Magnetotropic dissipation in topological skyrmions revealed by dynamic cantilever magnetometry

Magnetic skyrmions, topologically protected spin textures, are promising for both fundamental studies of topological magnetism and spintronic applications in data storage, logic processing, true random number generators, and neuromorphic computing. Yet, their energy dissipation, a key metric for evaluating manipulation efficiency and dynamics, remains elusive. Here, magnetotropic dissipation in B20 MnSi is characterized by dynamic cantilever magnetometry (DCM). Magnetotropic dissipation in the skyrmion phase is about one order of magnitude smaller than in topologically trivial helical and conical states, which is attributed to the topological characteristic that preserves spin configurations and minimizes energy loss to the electron/phonon heat bath, as confirmed by micromagnetic simulations. A magnetotropic dissipation phase diagram is further constructed, revealing little temperature dependence of skyrmion magnetotropic dissipation, indicative of negligible magnonic contributions to the magnetotropic dissipation process. Our results reveal the low magnetotropic dissipation characteristic and underlying mechanisms of skyrmions, and demonstrate that DCM can resolve dissipation down to 7×10−14 kg/s, enabling detailed investigations of magnetic materials at microscale dimensions.