Pattern formation in complex magnetic systems

What is it about?

Lamellar systems with continuous rotational symmetry (CRS) provide an exciting avenue for exploring spatiotemporal pattern formation and the emergence of topological defects in nonequilibrium systems. In this study, we investigate these phenomena on the (111) easy magnetization plane of the room-temperature magnetoelectric multiferroic BiFeO3, known for its noncollinear spin texture. We uncover the emergence of glassy Labyrinthine spin texture of spin cycloids which hosts an array of isolated and hybrid topological defects. Notably, applying an electric field induces a noncycloidal NV image contrast, which can be reconfigured by reversing the electric field polarity. These results reveal a unique manifestation of the magnetoelectric effect in such systems

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Why is it important?

A multiferroic material exhibits more than one ferroic order; the coupling between them leads to the formation of fascinating spin textures. These textures can be manipulated with an electric field, leading to new states of matter. Our work has explored this using the model multiferroic, BiFeO3, which exhibits a spin cycloid of the canted moment. This cycloid then forms a texture that is remniscent of Turing patterns. In addition to the fundamental science of such spin ytextures, this is also a pathway to create electric field control of such textures, with the potential to impact energy efficient computing.