We develop a theory for the coaxial configuration of a Néel-type skyrmion and a Pearl vortex in thin superconductor-chiral ferromagnetic heterostructures. Using an exact numerical solution of the Euler-Lagrange equation and micromagnetic simulations, we demonstrate that the inhomogeneous magnetic field of the Pearl vortex significantly modifies the skyrmion profile with respect to the same profile in the absence of the vortex. We discover drastic enlargement of the radius of the skyrmion and inversion of the chirality of the skyrmion. To unravel the physics behind these effects, we invent a two-parameter ansatz for the magnetization profile of the skyrmion in the presence of the vortex. Chirality inversion and radius blowup are controlled not only by the material parameters of the heterostructure but also by the thickness of the superconductor. Our findings can have implications for Majorana modes localized at skyrmion-vortex pairs.

• Received 16 December 2022
• Accepted 14 June 2023

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.107.L220409