Numerical star skyrmion twist for a value of the anisotropy χ04. The S1,2,3 Stokes degree of polarizations are plotted in the left panels over a 60×60μm2 area. Several concentric circles in real space (each represented with a different color) are conformally mapped onto the Poincaré sphere on the right panel (the l-line corresponds to the green color curve). The dynamical twist is similar for each circle, highlighting the generalized skyrmion features. At around 65ps the twist angle has reached 90∘ and the S2 and S3 distributions in real space have roughly swapped with respect to initial time. Upon longer time the twist leads to a complete reversal of the initial star skyrmion into its conjugate state, the lemon skyrmion.
Stefano Donati, Lorenzo Dominici, Galbadrakh Dagvadorj, Dario Ballarini, Milena De Giorgi, Alberto Bramati, Giuseppe Gigli, Yuri G. Rubo, Marzena Hanna Szymańska, and Daniele Sanvitto
PNAS. 2016. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1610123114