Skyrmion makeover

摘要

Sometimes a scientific idea falls into obscurity as researchers turn their attention elsewhere, yet contains such mathematical beauty that it is revived again and again. Such is the story of the skyrmion: a concept that has had several makeovers since it was first formulated in the late 1950s by the British physicist Tony Hilton Royle Skyrme.rnOne way to visualize a skyrmion is to imagine a sphere studded with arrows pointing towards its centre. Then take away the sphere, project the arrows onto a plane while keeping their orientations fixed, and admire a twisting configuration.