title: Quasi-two-dimensional Skyrmion lattices in a chiral nematic liquid crystal.
abstract: Skyrmions are particle-like topological entities in a continuous field that have an important role in various condensed matter systems, including two-dimensional electron gases exhibiting the quantum Hall effect, chiral ferromagnets and Bose-Einstein condensates. Here we show theoretically, with the aid of numerical methods, that a highly chiral nematic liquid crystal can accommodate a quasi-two-dimensional Skyrmion lattice as a thermodynamically stable state, when it is confined to a thin film between two parallel surfaces imposing normal alignment. A chiral nematic liquid crystal film can thus serve as a model Skyrmion system, allowing direct investigation of their structural properties by a variety of optical techniques at room temperatures that are less demanding than Skyrmion systems discussed previously.
authors.affiliation: Nanosystem Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Japan. fukuda.jun-ichi@aist.go.jp
authors.forename: Jun-ichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fukuda
authors.forename: Slobodan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zumer
mesh_terms: D050866:Liquid Crystals; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D013696:Temperature; D013816:Thermodynamics