  The topological Hall effect in magnetic materials is considered the ultimate
trademark of the skyrmion phase. The phenomenon is identified by distinct
non-monotonic features in the Hall effect signal presumed to be the evidence of
the topological origin. It is demonstrated here that similar features,
unrelated to the skyrmion physics, arise in heterogeneous ferromagnets when
components of the material exhibit the extraordinary Hall effect with opposite
polarities. Relevance of this mechanism to the published data is discussed.

Materials Science