Path to collapse for an isolated Néel skyrmion

A path method is implemented in order to precisely and generally describe the collapse of isolated skyrmions in a Co/Pt(111) monolayer, on the basis of atomic scale simulations. Two collapse mechanisms with different energy barriers are found. The most obvious path, featuring a homogeneous shrinking, gives the largest energy, whereas the lowest energy barrier is shown to comply with the outcome of Langevin dynamics under a destabilizing field of 0.25 T, with a lifetime of 20 ns at around 80 K. For this lowest energy barrier path, skyrmion destabilization occurs much before any topology change, suggesting that topology plays a minor role in the skyrmion stability. On the contrary, an important role appears devoted to the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction, establishing a route towards improved skyrmion stability.