Dresden 2026 – scientific programme
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MA: Fachverband Magnetismus
MA 21: Skyrmions II
MA 21.5: Talk
Tuesday, March 10, 2026, 15:00–15:15, HSZ/0004
Impact of higher-order exchange on the lifetime of skyrmions and antiskyrmions — Hendrik Schrautzer1, Moritz Goerzen2, 3, •Bjarne Beyer3, Pavel Bessarab1, 4, Soumyajyoti Haldar3, and Stefan Heinze3, 5 — 1Science Institute and Faculty of Physical Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland — 2CEMES, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, Toulouse, France — 3Institute of Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics, University of Kiel, Germany — 4Department of Physics and Electrical Engineering, Linnaeus University, Kalmar, Sweden — 5Kiel Nano, Surface, and Interface Science (KiNSIS), University of Kiel, Germany
Reliable control of skyrmion lifetime is essential for realizing spintronic devices, yet the role of higher-order interactions (HOI) – which can lead to skyrmion stabilization – remains largely unexplored. Here we calculate lifetimes of isolated skyrmions and antiskyrmions at transition-metal interfaces based on an atomistic spin model that includes fourth-order exchange [1]. Within harmonic transition-state theory, we evaluate both energetic and entropic contributions and find substantially enhanced lifetimes when HOI are included. The four-spin four-site interaction raises the energy barrier and lowers the curvature of the energy landscape in the vicinity of the collapse saddle point, increasing the pre-exponential factor of the arrhenius Law. Further HOI allow thermally stable skyrmions and antiskyrmions even in absence of Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction, interesting in the context of 2D van der Waals magnets lacking inversion symmetry.
[1] H. Schrautzer et al., arxiv:2511.05278 (2025).
Keywords: atomistic spin model; higher order exchange; harmonic transition state theory; lifetime; skyrmion antiskyrmion