Self-propelled magnetic textures without external drive

Abstract It is generally thought that apart from relaxation induced by damping, the accelerated motion of magnetic textures requires an external driving force such as magnetic field, electric current, mechanical strain, or boundary-induced interactions. Here, we show the existence of a class of two-dimensional magnetic textures that can spontaneously accelerate without any external drive. We further demonstrate that they possess remarkable robustness and can acquire an additional driven motion when subjected to an electric current. These findings reshape our understanding of magnetic structures and their dynamical evolution, and may chart new directions for the development of spintronic devices.