Non-hermiticity in spintronics: oscillation death in coupled spintronic nano-oscillators through emerging exceptional points.

The emergence of exceptional points (EPs) in the parameter space of a non-hermitian (2D) eigenvalue problem has long been interest in mathematical physics, however, only in the last decade entered the scope of experiments. In coupled systems, EPs give rise to unique physical phenomena, and enable the development of highly sensitive sensors. Here, we demonstrate at room temperature the emergence of EPs in coupled spintronic nanoscale oscillators and exploit the system's non-hermiticity. We observe amplitude death of self-oscillations and other complex dynamics, and develop a linearized non-hermitian model of the coupled spintronic system, which describes the main experimental features. The room temperature operation, and CMOS compatibility of our spintronic nanoscale oscillators means that they are ready to be employed in a variety of applications, such as field, current or rotation sensors, radiofrequeny and wireless devices, and in dedicated neuromorphic computing hardware. Furthermore, their unique and versatile properties, notably their large nonlinear behavior, open up unprecedented perspectives in experiments as well as in theory on the physics of exceptional points expanding to strongly nonlinear systems.

Magnetization reversal driven by low dimensional chaos in a nanoscale ferromagnet.

Energy-efficient switching of magnetization is a central problem in nonvolatile magnetic storage and magnetic neuromorphic computing. In the past two decades, several efficient methods of magnetic switching were demonstrated including spin torque, magneto-electric, and microwave-assisted switching mechanisms. Here we experimentally show that low-dimensional magnetic chaos induced by alternating spin torque can strongly increase the rate of thermally-activated magnetic switching in a nanoscale ferromagnet. This mechanism exhibits a well-pronounced threshold character in spin torque amplitude and its efficiency increases with decreasing spin torque frequency. We present analytical and numerical calculations that quantitatively explain these experimental findings and reveal the key role played by low-dimensional magnetic chaos near saddle equilibria in enhancement of the switching rate. Our work unveils an important interplay between chaos and stochasticity in the energy assisted switching of magnetic nanosystems and paves the way towards improved energy efficiency of spin torque memory and logic.