title: Discovery of stable skyrmionic state in ferroelectric nanocomposites.
abstract: Non-coplanar swirling field textures, or skyrmions, are now widely recognized as objects of both fundamental interest and technological relevance. So far, skyrmions were amply investigated in magnets, where due to the presence of chiral interactions, these topological objects were found to be intrinsically stabilized. Ferroelectrics on the other hand, lacking such chiral interactions, were somewhat left aside in this quest. Here we demonstrate, via the use of a first-principles-based framework, that skyrmionic configuration of polarization can be extrinsically stabilized in ferroelectric nanocomposites. The interplay between the considered confined geometry and the dipolar interaction underlying the ferroelectric phase instability induces skyrmionic configurations. The topological structure of the obtained electrical skyrmion can be mapped onto the topology of domain-wall junctions. Furthermore, the stabilized electrical skyrmion can be as small as a few nanometers, thus revealing prospective skyrmion-based applications of ferroelectric nanocomposites.
authors.affiliation: Physics Department and Institute for Nanoscience and Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701, USA.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nahas
authors.affiliation: Physics Department and Institute for Nanoscience and Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701, USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Prokhorenko
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science &Engineering and Institute of Materials Science, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut 06269, USA.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Louis
authors.affiliation: Physics Department and Institute for Nanoscience and Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701, USA.
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Gui
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Structures, Propriétés et Modélisation des Solides, CNRS-UMR8580, Ecole Centrale Paris, 92290 Châtenay-Malabry, France.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kornev
authors.affiliation: Physics Department and Institute for Nanoscience and Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701, USA.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bellaiche