Unidirectional motion of topological defects mediating continuous rotation processes

Topological defects play a crucial role across various fields, mediating phase transitions and macroscopic behaviors as they propagate through space. Their role as robust information carriers has also generated much attention. However, controlling their motion remains challenging, especially towards achieving motion along well-defined paths, which typically require predefined structural patterning. Here, we demonstrate the tunable, unidirectional motion of topological defects in a laterally unconfined thin film. The motion of these defects-specifically magnetic dislocations-is shown to mediate the overall continuous rotation of the stripe pattern in which they are embedded. We determine the connection between the unidirectional motion of dislocations and the underlying three-dimensional (3D) magnetic structure by performing 3D magnetic vectorial imaging with in situ magnetic fields. A minimal model for dislocations in stripe patterns that encodes the symmetry breaking induced by the external magnetic field reproduces the motion of dislocations that facilitate the 2D rotation of the stripes, highlighting the universality of the phenomenon. This work establishes a framework for studying the field-driven behavior of topological textures and designing materials that enable well-defined, controlled motion of defects in unconfined systems, paving the way to manipulate information carriers in higher-dimensional systems.