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Magnetic skyrmions are topological spin textures that exhibit classical or quantum quasiparticle behavior. A substantial amount of research has occurred in this field, both because of their unique electromagnetic properties and potential application for future nonvolatile memory storage applications, as well as fundamental questions on their topology and unique magnetic phases. Here, we investigate the fluctuation properties of a magnetic Fe/Gd skyrmion lattice, using short-pulsed x rays. We first measure spontaneous fluctuations of the skyrmion lattice phase and find an inherent, collective mode showing an underdamped oscillation with a relaxation of a couple of nanoseconds. Further observations track the response towards the continuous phase transition and a “critical-like” slowing down of fluctuations is observed well before the critical point. These results suggest that the skyrmion lattice phase never fully freezes into a static crystal. This constant state of fluctuation indicates that the physics of topological magnetic phases may have more in common with high-temperature superconductors with disorder.

We present ultrafast resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) experiments performed at the vanadium L edge to track changes in the electronic structure of V_{2}O_{3}, a classical Mott-Hubbard material. The probed orbital excitations within the d shell of the V ion show a sub-ps time response, which evolves at later times to a state that appears electronically indistinguishable from the high-temperature metallic state. For low excitation fluences, a transient recovery or delay is observed, which could be related to a transient dimerization of the V-V bonds. Our results demonstrate the great potential for RIXS spectroscopy to study the ultrafast orbital dynamics in strongly correlated materials.