Related papers: Particle-like topologies in light
Structured light fields embody strong spatial variations of polarisation, phase and amplitude. Understanding, characterization and exploitation of such fields can be achieved through their topological properties. Three-dimensional (3D)…
Hopfions, higher-dimensional topological quasiparticles with sophisticated 3D knotted spin textures discovered in condensed matter and photonic systems, show promise in high-density data storage and transfer. Here we present crystalline…
3D topological solitons are marvels of mathematical physics that arise in theoretical models in elementary particle and nuclear physics, condensed matter, and cosmology. A particularly interesting type of them is described by the…
Analogies between non-trivial topologies of matter and light have inspired numerous studies, including defect formation in structured light and topological photonic band-structures. Three-dimensional topological objects of localized…
Topological solitons have been studied for decades in classical field theories, and have started recently to impact condensed matter physics. Among those solitons, magnetic skyrmions are two-dimensional particle-like objects with a…
The ability of structured light to mimic exotic topological skyrmion textures, encountered in high-energy physics, cosmology, magnetic materials, and superfluids has recently received considerable attention. Despite their promise as…
Hopfions, three-dimensional topological solitons characterized by nontrivial Hopf indices, represent a fundamental class of field configurations that emerge across diverse areas of physics. Despite extensive studies of isolated hopfions, a…
We unveil a new topological quasiparticle of light in 3D space, named the photonic Shankar skyrmion. We show that an elliptically polarized field can be described by an SO(3) order parameter and it can form a texture in 3D space classified…
Structured light offers a promising solution for the increasing data demands of modern optical networks, opening up new degrees of freedom that can be leveraged for greater channel capacity and more bits per photon. However, its…
Skyrmions, merons, bimerons, and skyrmionic hopfions are quasiparticles which have stable topological textures. They have been observed across multiple physical domains including nucleons, water waves, magnetic materials, electromagnetic…
Topological spin configurations, such as soliton-like spin texture and Dirac electron assemblies, have emerged in recent years in both fundamental science and technological applications. Achieving stable topological spin textures at…
Topological spin textures exhibit a hierarchical nature. For instance, magnetic skyrmions, which possess a particle-like nature, can aggregate to form superstructures such as skyrmion strings and skyrmion lattices. Magnetic hopfions are…
Skyrmions, topologically non-trivial localized spin structures, are fertile ground for exploring emergent phenomena in condensed matter physics and next-generation magnetic-memory technologies. Although magnetics and optics readily lend…
Magnetic hopfions are non-collinear spin textures that are characterized by an integer topological invariant, called Hopf index. The three-dimensional magnetic solitons can be thought of as a tube with a twisted magnetization that has been…
We construct two-band topological semimetals in four dimensions using the unstable homotopy of maps from the three-torus $T^3$ (Brillouin zone of a 3D crystal) to the two-sphere $S^2$. Dubbed ``Hopf semimetals'', these gapless phases…
Three-dimensional magnetic textures, such as Hopfions, torons, and skyrmion tubes, possess rich geometric and topological structure, but their detailed energetics, deformation modes, and collective behavior are yet to be fully understood.…
Creation and control of topological complex excitations play crucial roles in both fundamental physics and modern information science. Torons are a sophisticated class of 3D chiral polar topological structures with both skyrmionic…
Skyrmions are topologically stable quasiparticles that have been predicted and demonstrated in quantum fields, solid-state physics, and magnetic materials, but only recently observed in electromagnetic fields, triggering fast expanding…
To gain deeper insight into the complex, stable, and robust configurations of magnetic textures, topological characterisation has proven essential. In particular, while the skyrmion number is a well-established topological invariant for 2D…
Knots and links play a crucial role in understanding topology and discreteness in nature. In magnetic systems, twisted, knotted and braided vortex tubes manifest as Skyrmions, Hopfions, or screw dislocations. These complex textures are…