Magnetic solitons – topologically protected chiral spin structures with particle-like properties such as skyrmions or bimerons – have received considerable attention due to their rich physics and promising applications for future spintronic devices [1]. The main focus of the community has been so far on magnetic solitons in bulk [2,3], ultrathin films [4,5], and multilayers [6,7].

In 2017, the first experimental confirmation of magnetism in atomically thin materials was reported [8,9], opening up new opportunities for exploring novel magnetic phenomena in reduced dimensionality. This is a true breakthrough because, according to the Mermin–Wagner theorem, magnetism is not expected in the 2D limit at finite temperature. Therefore, the theory of magnetism in 2D is very different from conventional 3D magnets [10,11]. Three years later, magnetic skyrmions were experimentally observed in 2D van der Waals (vdW) crystals, pushing soliton technology to the single-layer limit [12,13,14].

Stabilizing magnetic solitons in 2D vdW magnets offers several potential advantages. These include avoiding pinning by defects (thanks to high-quality vdW interfaces), the possibility of intrinsic Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) within a single layer, and easy control of magnetism via external stimuli such as strain [15],  proximity [16], electric fields [17], twist [18], or light [19,20]. Due to noncollinear spin textures, it has recently been demonstrated that all-electrical skyrmion detection is possible in tunnel junctions based on 2D magnets [21]. The family of 2D vdW magnets is still rapidly growing, with many more new materials awaiting discovery. The study of magnetic solitons in 2D magnets is still in its infancy stage. This leaves a timely and vast playground for investigating new mechanisms for magnetic soliton generation, transformation, detection, and manipulation in the emerging area of 2D magnets. However, due to the very large number of possible 2D material combinations, there is an urgent need for fundamental understanding and modeling tools to scale up and systematize the search for new smart 2D skyrmionics designs. The European Commission recognized that “The future of the European industry is associated with a strong materials modeling capacity. An efficient modeling approach is needed to shorten the development process of materials-enabled products [22].”

Inspired by these prospects, this workshop will be mainly driven by theory and computational modeling to predict various topological spin textures and better understand their formation mechanisms, stability, and manipulation via external stimuli in experimentally feasible vdW materials. In particular, we will focus on the challenges in the current state-of-the-art theoretical frameworks as listed below.

Limitations and challenges in theory and computational modeling: Describing accurately the physics of magnetic interactions and magnetic solitons poses various challenges. This is due to the fact that magnetic solitons are generally several nanometers in size, resulting from the interplay of various magnetic interactions such as exchange, anisotropy, dipolar interactions, DMI, and more complex higher-order (multi-spin) exchange interactions (HOI). It is important to emphasize that these magnetic interactions are strongly material-dependent, and calculating them using noncollinear density functional theory (ncDFT) easily pushes computational resources to their limits. It becomes incredibly challenging when dealing with realistic interfaces that include defects or doping. The challenge intensifies when considering quantum transport properties (such as noncollinear magnetoresistance and spin-orbit torque) for magnetic solitons. This leads to the current state-of-the-art ncDFT and ab initio quantum transport calculations being applied only to small, model-like perfect systems (typically sub-1 nm), which do not match the experimental scale. A full ab initio description on the scale of sub-10 nm skyrmions or beyond is currently unavailable. Moreover, despite significant experimental advances in ultrafast (optical) control of soliton switching and detection, the relevant microscopic theory and time-dependent spin model parameterized by real-time time-dependent DFT (rt-TDDFT) are missing. Moreover, to accurately describe dynamical magnetic susceptibility, TDDFT or GW/BSE can be a good choice, but its proper implementation and decomposition (e.g., spin-phonon and spin-electronic contributions) have not been addressed. Additionally, soliton energy barriers and lifetime calculations based on transition state theory become challenging when considering HOI.

This workshop aims to bring together researchers in the timely field of Magnetic solitons in 2D magnets to present the latest advancements in overcoming the theoretical limitations discussed above. We will focus on understanding the mechanisms of soliton generation, stability, detection, and manipulation in 2D magnets. These are the fundamental building blocks required to master soliton devices for memory and logic applications. In addition, this workshop facilitates interaction among experts ranging from ab initio methods to atomistic spin models, aiming to explain current experiments and further predict new unconventional 2D magnets.