Magnetic skyrmions are topological spin textures promising for future high-density and nonvolatile memory. It is crucial to understand the current-driven skyrmion dynamics in the presence of deformation, of which an analytical model, however, remains elusive. Here we extend Thiele’s model by considering both the radial and tangential forces. Our model attributes the skyrmion deformation to the current-induced rotational symmetry breaking, which includes magnetization canting and domain-wall width variation. Our predictions of skyrmion radius and nonlinear dynamics are consistent with micromagnetic simulation results. Besides, we show that by applying an in-plane magnetic field, the deformation of a skyrmion can be suppressed, and even the compression of a skyrmion can be achieved. Our model provides a generic way to analyze the skyrmion deformation and may inspire applications based on nonlinear skyrmion dynamics.

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• Magnetic texture
• Skyrmions
• Spin dynamics
• Spin torque
• Spin-orbit coupling
• Spintronics
• Chaos & nonlinear dynamics
• Landau-Lifschitz-Gilbert equation