Duplication, Collapse, and Escape of Magnetic Skyrmions Revealed Using a Systematic Saddle Point Search Method

Various transitions that a magnetic Skyrmion can undergo are found in calculations using a method for climbing up the energy surface and converging onto first order saddle points. In addition to collapse and escape through a boundary, the method identifies a transition where the Skyrmion divides and forms two Skyrmions. The activation energy for this duplication process can be similar to that of collapse and escape. A tilting of the external magnetic field for a certain time interval is found to induce the duplication process in a dynamical simulation. Such a process could turn out to be an important avenue for the creation of Skyrmions in future magnetic devices.