Quantum computing of magnetic-skyrmion-like patterns in Heisenberg ferromagnets

We diagonalize the quantum two-dimensional spin-1/2 Heisenberg model with Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya interaction (DMI) by applying the variational quantum eigensolver, running on a quantum-computer simulator, which turns out to be a more efficient approach than a classical direct diagonalization for systems with more than 17 sites. The calculated external-magnetic-field dependence of the total energy, of the magnetization, and of the topological charge exhibits a distinctive discontinuity which hints at the existence of zero-temperature magnetic- skyrmion-like structures at the quantum level, controlled by the combination of the exchange-coupling and the DMI parameters. The potentially measurable jump in the magnetization upon changing the field indicates the investigated objects are stable enough for eventual applications in spintronics or even as information carriers.