Ultrafast laser-driven topological spin textures on a 2D magnet

Ultrafast laser excitations provide an efficient and low-power consumption alternative since different magnetic properties and topological spin states can be triggered and manipulated at the femtosecond (fs) regime. However, it is largely unknown whether laser excitations already used in data information platforms can manipulate the magnetic properties of recently discovered two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) materials. Here we show that ultrashort laser pulses (30–85 fs) can not only manipulate magnetic domains of 2D-XY CrCl₃ ferromagnets, but also induce the formation and control of topological nontrivial meron and antimeron spin textures. We observed that these spin quasiparticles are created within ~100 ps after the excitation displaying rich dynamics through motion, collision and annihilation with emission of spin waves throughout the surface. Our findings highlight substantial opportunities of using photonic driving forces for the exploration of spin textures on 2D magnetic materials towards magneto-optical topological applications.