Midpoint geometric integrators for inertial magnetization dynamics

Abstract

We consider the numerical solution of the inertial version of Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation (iLLG), which describes high-frequency nutation on top of magnetization precession due to angular momentum relaxation. The iLLG equation defines a higher-order nonlinear dynamical system with very different nature compared to the classical LLG equation, requiring twice as many degrees of freedom for space-time discretization. It exhibits essential conservation properties, namely magnetization amplitude preservation, magnetization projection conservation, and a balance equation for generalized free energy, leading to a Lyapunov structure (i.e. the free energy is a decreasing function of time) when the external magnetic field is constant in time. We propose two second-order numerical schemes for integrating the iLLG dynamics over time, both based on implicit midpoint rule. The first scheme unconditionally preserves all the conservation properties, making it the preferred choice for simulating inertial magnetization dynamics. However, it implies doubling the number of unknowns, necessitating significant changes in numerical micromagnetic codes and increasing computational costs especially for spatially inhomogeneous dynamics simulations. To address this issue, we present a second time-stepping method that retains the same computational cost as the implicit midpoint rule for classical LLG dynamics while unconditionally preserving magnetization amplitude and projection. Special quasi-Newton techniques are developed for solving the nonlinear system of equations required at each time step due to the implicit nature of both time-steppings. The numerical schemes are validated on analytical solution for macrospin terahertz frequency response and the effectiveness of the second scheme is demonstrated with full micromagnetic simulation of inertial spin waves propagation in a magnetic thin-film.