Skyrmion lattice with a giant topological Hall effect in a frustrated triangular-lattice magnet

Skyrmions in a frustrated magnet Skyrmions—tiny, topologically protected whirlpools of spin—have been investigated as potential information carriers in spintronic devices. Usually, skyrmions appear in noncentrosymmetric materials or at interfaces between materials. In contrast to this rule of thumb, Kurumaji et al. observed a skyrmion lattice phase in the centrosymmetric material Gd 2 PdSi 3 . The magnetic frustration present in this material helped stabilize the skyrmion phase, which was detected through transport measurements in magnetic field. Science , this issue p. 914