Antiferromagnetic Chiral Bobber Formation and Topological Proximity Effect in MnBi2Te4

Abstract

With topological materials being billed as the key to a new generation of nanoelectronics via either functional real-space topological structures (domain walls, skyrmions etc.) or via momentum-space topology (topological insulators), tailored and controllable topological properties are of paramount significance, since they lead to topologically protected states with negligible dissipation, enabling stable and non-volatile information processing. Here, we report on the evolution of topological magnetic textures in the proximity of other topological defects, i.e., antiferromagnetic domain walls in the topological insulator MnBi2Te4. The transition from the antiferromagnetic ground state to a canted antiferromagnetic state at finite magnetic fields is accompanied by the formation of chiral bobbers - bulk-terminated topological defects adjacent to the domain walls in this system, leading to a topological proximity effect.