REPORTS Spin Torque–Generated Magnetic Droplet Solitons

Dissipative solitons have been reported in a wide range of nonlinear systems, but the observation of their magnetic analog has been experimentally challenging. Using spin transfer torque underneath a nanocontact on a magnetic thin film with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA), we have observed the generation of dissipative magnetic droplet solitons and report on their rich dynamical properties. Micromagnetic simulations identify a wide range of automodulation frequencies, including droplet oscillatory motion, droplet “spinning, ” and droplet “breather ” states. The droplet can be controlled by using both current and magnetic fields and is expected to have applications in spintronics, magnonics, and PMA-based domain-wall devices. Dissipative solitons are localized excita-tions realized by a balance between non-linearity, dispersion, gain, and loss (1, 2). They can be experimentally observed in optical (3, 4), chemical (5, 6), granular (7), and liquid (8) dissipative systems. Large amplitude nanoscale dynamics in magnetic thin films with perpendic-ular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) inherently posses