A skyrmion is a topologically stable, vortex-like field configuration that cannot be smoothly morphed to a uniform state [1]. First proposed by physicist Tony Skyrme in 1961 as a model of the nucleon [2], the concept has since been studied in condensed-matter physics and adjacent fields [3]. In particular, skyrmions have cropped up in studies of magnetism [4], Bose-Einstein condensates [5], quantum Hall systems [6], liquid crystals [7], and in other contexts (see, for example, Viewpoint: Water Can Host Topological Waves and Synopsis: Skyrmions Made from Sound Waves). Skyrmions exhibit fascinating properties such as small size, stability, and controllability, which give them great potential for applications in spintronics, data storage, and quantum computing. Despite extensive investigations in various systems, real-time observations of skyrmion formation have been hard to achieve because of their fast dynamics and the narrow range of experimental conditions under which they are generated. Now Jaka Pišljar at the Jozef Stefan Institute in Slovenia and his collaborators have witnessed the formation of fractional skyrmions—specifically, half-skyrmions—in a chiral liquid crystal [8].
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