Distinguished University Professor TOKURA Yoshinori’s Research Group Observes Topological Magneto-Optical Effect From Skyrmion Lattice

The research group to which Distinguished University Professor TOKURA Yoshinori belongs has successfully shown the magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) induced by the skyrmion formation, i.e., topological MOKE, in Gd₂PdSi₃. The significantly enhanced optical rotation found in the skyrmion phase demonstrates the emergence of topological MOKE, exemplifying the light-skyrmion interaction arising from the emergent gauge field. This gauge field in momentum space causes a dramatic reconstruction of the electronic band structure, giving rise to magneto-optical activity ranging up to the sub-eV region. The present findings pave a way for photonic technology based on skyrmionics.

For more information, please refer to the press release and the paper in Nature Communications.