Skyrmions in Helimagnets

Speaker: Prof. Jiadon Zang
Affiliation: University of New Hampshire

Abstract:  A skyrmion is a topological configuration in which local spins wrap around the unit sphere for an integer number of times. After decades of theoretical discussions in high energy physics, it has been recently observed in a series of non-centrosymmetric chiral magnets. Several experiments by neutron scattering or transmission electron microscopy confirm the presence of skyrmions in a crystalline state at a finite window of magnetic field and temperature. Skyrmions show various novel properties inherent to its topological nature, such as topological Hall effect, topological stability, and ultralow critical current for movement, which offer the skyrmion promising prospects for next generation spintronic devices and information storage.

In this talk, I will explain the physical origin of skyrmions in chiral magnets, and discuss our recent progress on the skyrmion physics, including skyrmions in confined geometries, new skyrmion materials, and electron transports of the skyrmion materials.

Biography:  Jiadong Zang is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics, University of New Hampshire, since 2015. He got PhD from Fudan University in 2012 and spent three years at the Johns Hopkins University as a postdoc fellow before joining UNH. He has published more than 30 papers on the skyrmion physics. His group is fully devoted into the study of skyrmions and other areas in condensed matter physics generally related to spin-orbit coupling, non-equilibrium physics and quantum matters.

For more information, contact Prof. Kang Wang (wang@ee.ucla.edu)

Date/Time:
Date(s) - May 12, 2017
5:00 pm - 6:30 pm

Location:
E-IV Tesla Room #53-125
420 Westwood Plaza - 5th Flr., Los Angeles CA 90095