About
Sam Moody is postdoc at the Paul Scherrer Institute, and his position is a part of the national infrastructure NcNeutron hosted by IFE, which gives the Norwegian research community direct access to the instrument suite at the Swiss neutron source SINQ (https://www.psi.ch/en/sinq). Sam will give a talk about his research and the possibilities for Norwegian users at SINQ. If there is interest in discussions with Sam before or after the seminar, please contact Øystein S. Fjellvåg (oystein.fjellvag@ife.no).
Abstract
The concept of skyrmions, initially proposed by British physicist Tony Skyrme in the late 1950s to represent subatomic particles like pions and protons, has evolved significantly. It was based upon the concept of tying knots into a ‘pion-field’ with a quantized number of twists characterizing each type of skyrmion[1]. Recent advancements have led to the discovery of magnetic skyrmions in specific magnetic systems, sparking widespread interest in their formation, stability, and potential applications in spintronic devices[2, 3]. In this presentation, I will delve into my research on magnetic skyrmions during my Ph.D. at Durham University, along with an exploration of the scattering techniques I acquired during that period. Leveraging these techniques, I will outline the experimental prospects available at PSI (Paul Scherrer Institute), shedding light on my current research, including the exploration of systems hosting novel types of magnetic skyrmions.
References:
[1] I. J. R. Aitchison, "Tony Skyrme and the Origins of Skyrmions," arXiv:2001.09944 (2020).
[2] S. Muhlbauer et al., "Skyrmion Lattice in a Chiral Magnet," Science 323, 5916 (2009).
[3] N. Nagaosa & Y. Tokura, "Topological properties and dynamics of magnetic skyrmions," Nature Nanotechnology 8, 899 (2013).