- Open Access
Quantum computing of magnetic-skyrmion-like patterns in Heisenberg ferromagnets
Phys. Rev. Research 7, 033055 – Published 14 July, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/lq2d-s6zm
Abstract
We diagonalize the quantum two-dimensional spin-1/2 Heisenberg model with Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya interaction (DMI) by applying the variational quantum eigensolver, running on a quantum-computer simulator, which turns out to be a more efficient approach than a classical direct diagonalization for systems with more than 17 sites. The calculated external-magnetic-field dependence of the total energy, of the magnetization, and of the topological charge exhibits a distinctive discontinuity which hints at the existence of zero-temperature magnetic- skyrmion-like structures at the quantum level, controlled by the combination of the exchange-coupling and the DMI parameters. The potentially measurable jump in the magnetization upon changing the field indicates the investigated objects are stable enough for eventual applications in spintronics or even as information carriers.
Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)
Article Text
References (26)
- 40 years of quantum computing, Nat. Rev. Phys. 4, 1 (2022).
- Y. Alexeev, D. Bacon, K. R. Brown, R. Calderbank, L. D. Carr, F. T. Chong, B. DeMarco, D. Englund, E. Farhi, B. Fefferman, A. V. Gorshkov, A. Houck, J. Kim, S. Kimmel, M. Lange, S. Lloyd, M. D. Lukin, D. Maslov, P. Maunz, C. Monroe et al., Quantum computer systems for scientific discovery, PRX Quantum 2, 017001 (2021).
- C. Psaroudaki and C. Panagopoulos, Skyrmion qubits: A new class of quantum logic elements based on nanoscale magnetization, Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 067201 (2021).
- J. Xia, X. Zhang, X. Liu, Y. Zhou, and M. Ezawa, Universal quantum computation based on nanoscale skyrmion helicity qubits in frustrated magnets, Phys. Rev. Lett. 130, 106701 (2023).
- N. del Ser, I. El Achchi, and A. Rosch, Fractional topological charges in two-dimensional magnets, Phys. Rev. B 110, 094442 (2024).
- G. Yin, Y. Li, L. Kong, R. K. Lake, C. L. Chien, and J. Zang, Topological charge analysis of ultrafast single skyrmion creation, Phys. Rev. B 93, 174403 (2016).
- A. Roldán-Molina, M. J. Santander, A. S. Nunez, and J. Fernández-Rossier, Quantum fluctuations stabilize skyrmion textures, Phys. Rev. B 92, 245436 (2015).
- A. Haller, S. Groenendijk, A. Habibi, A. Michels, and T. L. Schmidt, Quantum skyrmion lattices in Heisenberg ferromagnets, Phys. Rev. Res. 4, 043113 (2022).
- P. Siegl, E. Y. Vedmedenko, M. Stier, M. Thorwart, and T. Posske, Controlled creation of quantum skyrmions, Phys. Rev. Res. 4, 023111 (2022).
- I. Dzyaloshinsky, A thermodynamic theory of “weak” ferromagnetism of antiferromagnetics, J. Phys. Chem. Solids 4, 241 (1958).
- T. Moriya, Anisotropic superexchange interaction and weak ferromagnetism, Phys. Rev. 120, 91 (1960).
- V. Lohani, C. Hickey, J. Masell, and A. Rosch, Quantum skyrmions in frustrated ferromagnets, Phys. Rev. X 9, 041063 (2019).
- A. Peruzzo, J. McClean, P. Shadbolt, M.-H. Yung, X.-Q. Zhou, P. J. Love, A. Aspuru-Guzik, and J. L. O'Brien, A variational eigenvalue solver on a photonic quantum processor, Nat. Commun. 5, 4213 (2014).
- J. Tilly, H. Chen, S. Cao, D. Picozzi, K. Setia, Y. Li, E. Grant, L. Wossnig, I. Rungger, G. H. Booth, and J. Tennyson, The variational quantum eigensolver: A review of methods and best practices, Phys. Rep. 986, 1 (2022).
- B. Berg and M. Lüscher, Definition and statistical distributions of a topological number in the lattice O(3) -model, Nucl. Phys. B 190, 412 (1981).
- A. Van Oosterom and J. Strackee, The solid angle of a plane triangle, IEEE Trans. Biomed. Eng. BME-30, 125 (1983).
- V. Senicourt, J. Brown, A. Fleury, R. Day, E. Lloyd, M. P. Coons, K. Bieniasz, L. Huntington, A. J. Garza, S. Matsuura, R. Plesch, T. Yamazaki, and A. Zaribafiyan, Tangelo: An open-source Python package for end-to-end chemistry workflows on quantum computers, arXiv:2206.12424.
- A. Kandala, A. Mezzacapo, K. Temme, M. Takita, M. Brink, J. M. Chow, and J. M. Gambetta, Hardware-efficient variational quantum eigensolver for small molecules and quantum magnets, Nature (London) 549, 242 (2017).
- Arpack software, https://github.com/opencollab/arpack-ng.
- R. B. Lehoucq, D. C. Sorensen, and C. Yang, ARPACK USERS GUIDE: Solution of Large Scale Eigenvalue Problems by Implicitly Restarted Arnoldi Methods (SIAM, Philadelphia, PA, 1998).
- T. Tsuchimochi, M. Taii, T. Nishimaki, and S. L. Ten-no, Adaptive construction of shallower quantum circuits with quantum spin projection for fermionic systems, Phys. Rev. Res. 4, 033100 (2022).
- L. W. Bertels, H. R. Grimsley, S. E. Economou, E. Barnes, and N. J. Mayhall, Symmetry breaking slows convergence of the adapt variational quantum eigensolver, J. Chem. Theory Comput. 18, 6656 (2022).
- R. A. Istomin and A. S. Moskvin, Overlap integral for quantum skyrmions, J. Exp. Theor. Phys. Lett. 71, 338 (2000).
- S. A. Dáaz and D. P. Arovas, Quantum nucleation of skyrmions in magnetic films by inhomogeneous fields, in Memorial Volume for Shoucheng Zhang (World Scientific Publishing, Singapore, 2021), Chap. 2, pp. 19–33.
- J. Hagemeister, N. Romming, K. von Bergmann, E. Y. Vedmedenko, and R. Wiesendanger, Stability of single skyrmionic bits, Nat. Commun. 6, 8455 (2015).
- A. P. Petrović, C. Psaroudaki, P. Fischer, M. Garst, and C. Panagopoulos, Colloquium: Quantum properties and functionalities of magnetic skyrmions, arXiv:2410.11427.