Multiferroic hexagonal RMnO3 (R=rare earths) crystals exhibit dense networks of vortex lines at which six domain walls merge. While the domain walls can be readily moved with an applied electric field, the vortex cores were so far impossible to control. Our experiments demonstrate that shear strain induces a Magnus-type force pulling vortices and antivortices in opposite directions and unfolding them into a topological stripe domain state. We discuss the analogy between this effect and the current-driven dynamics of vortices in superconductors and superfluids.
@article{arxiv.1405.4349,
title = {Unfolding of vortices into topological stripes in a multiferroic material},
author = {Xueyun Wang and Maxim Mostovoy and Myung-Geun Han and Yoichi Horibe and T. Aoki and Yimei Zhu and Sang-Wook Cheong},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1405.4349},
year = {2015}
}