  While the transition between skyrmionic and non-topological states has been
widely explored as a bit operation for information transport and storage in
spintronic devices, the ultrafast dynamics of such transitions remains
challenging to observe and understand. Here, we utilize spin-dynamics
simulations and harmonic transition state theory (HTST) to provide an in-depth
analysis of the nucleation of skyrmionic states in helimagnets. We reveal a
persistent blinking (creation-annihilation) phenomenon of these topological
states under specific conditions near the phase boundary between skyrmion and
conical states. Through a minimum-energy path analysis, we elucidate that this
blinking behavior is favored by the formation of chiral bobber (CB) surface
states and that the collapse of CBs differs from that of skyrmions in thin
films due to their different oscillation modes. We further employ HTST to
estimate the typical blinking time as a function of the applied magnetic field
and temperature. Finally, we illustrate the practical use of skyrmion blinking
for controlled probabilistic computing, exemplified by a skyrmion-based
random-number generator.
