arXiv subjects

R. W. Chantrell

Publications and source records attributed to R. W. Chantrell.

29 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2011

Magnetic anisotropy of FePt: effect of lattice distortion and chemical disorder

We perform first principles calculations of the magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy in the five L10 FePt samples studied experimentally by Ding et al. [J. App. Phys. 97, 10H303 (2005)]. The effect of temperature-induced spin fluctuations is estimated by scaling the MAE down according to previous Langevin dynamics simulations. Including chemical disorder as given in experiment, the experimental correlation between MAE and lattice mismatch is qualitatively well reproduced. Moreover we determine the chemical order parameters that reproduce exactly the experimental MAE of each sample. We conclude that the MAE is determined by the chemical disorder rather than by lattice distortion.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2010

Constrained Monte Carlo Method and Calculation of the Temperature Dependence of Magnetic Anisotropy

We introduce a constrained Monte Carlo method which allows us to traverse the phase space of a classical spin system while fixing the magnetization direction. Subsequently we show the method's capability to model the temperature dependence of magnetic anisotropy, and for bulk uniaxial and cubic anisotropies we recover the low-temperature Callen-Callen power laws in M. We also calculate the temperature scaling of the 2-ion anisotropy in L10 FePt, and recover the experimentally observed M^2.1 scaling. The method is newly applied to evaluate the temperature dependent effective anisotropy in the presence of the N'eel surface anisotropy in thin films with different easy axis configurations. In systems having different surface and bulk easy axes, we show the capability to model the temperature-induced reorientation transition. The intrinsic surface anisotropy is found to follow a linear temperature behavior in a large range of temperatures.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2009

Laser induced magnetization switching in films with perpendicular anisotropy: a comparison between measurements and a multi-macrospin model

Thermally-assisted ultra-fast magnetization reversal in a DC magnetic field for magnetic multilayer thin films with perpendicular anisotropy has been investigated in the time domain using femtosecond laser heating. The experiment is set-up as an optically pumped stroboscopic Time Resolved Magneto-Optical Kerr Effect magnetometer. It is observed that a modest laser fluence of about 0.3 mJ/square-cm induces switching of the magnetization in an applied field much less than the DC coercivity (0.8 T) on the sub-nanosecond time-scale. This switching was thermally-assisted by the energy from the femtosecond pump-pulse. The experimental results are compared with a model based on the Landau Lifschitz Bloch equation. The comparison supports a description of the reversal process as an ultra-fast demagnetization and partial recovery followed by slower thermally activated switching due to the spin system remaining at an elevated temperature after the heating pulse.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2008

Ultra-fast spin dynamics: the effect of colored noise

Recent experimental results have pushed the limits of magnetization dynamics to pico- and femtosecond timescales. This ultra-fast spin dynamics occurs in extreme conditions of strong and rapidly varying fields and high temperatures. This situation requires new description of magnetization dynamics, even on a phenomenological level of the atomistic Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation, taking into account that the correlation time for electron system could be of the order of the inverse characteristic spin frequency. For this case we introduce the thermodynamically correct phenomenological approach for spin dynamics based on the Landau-Lifshitz-Miyasaki-Seki equation. The influence of the noise correlation time on longitudinal and transverse magnetization relaxation is investigated. We also demonstrate the effect of the noise correlation time on demagnetisation rate of different materials during laser-induced dynamics.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2007

Effective anisotropies and energy barriers of magnetic nanoparticles with Neel surface anisotropy

Magnetic nanoparticles with Neel surface anisotropy, different internal structures, surface arrangements and elongation are modelled as many-spin systems. The results suggest that the energy of many-spin nanoparticles cut from cubic lattices can be represented by an effective one-spin potential containing uniaxial and cubic anisotropies. It is shown that the values and signs of the corresponding constants depend strongly on the particle's surface arrangement, internal structure and elongation. Particles cut from a simple cubic lattice have the opposite sign of the effective cubic term, as compared to particles cut from the face-centered cubic lattice. Furthermore, other remarkable phenomena are observed in nanoparticles with relatively strong surface effects: (i) In elongated particles surface effects can change the sign of the uniaxial anisotropy. (ii) In symmetric particles (spherical and truncated octahedral) with cubic core anisotropy surface effects can change its sign. We also show that the competition between the core and surface anisotropies leads to a new energy that contributes to both the 2nd- and 4th-order effective anisotropies.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2006

Dynamic approach for micromagnetics close to the Curie temperature

In conventional micromagnetism magnetic domain configurations are calculated based on a continuum theory for the magnetization which is assumed to be of constant length in time and space. Dynamics is usually described with the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert (LLG) equation the stochastic variant of which includes finite temperatures. Using simulation techniques with atomistic resolution we show that this conventional micromagnetic approach fails for higher temperatures since we find two effects which cannot be described in terms of the LLG equation: i) an enhanced damping when approaching the Curie temperature and, ii) a magnetization magnitude that is not constant in time. We show, however, that both of these effects are naturally described by the Landau-Lifshitz-Bloch equation which links the LLG equation with the theory of critical phenomena and turns out to be a more realistic equation for magnetization dynamics at elevated temperatures.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2004

Temperature dependent magnetic properties of FePt: effective spin Hamiltonian model

A model of magnetic interactions in the ordered ferromagnetic FePt is proposed on the basis of first-principles calculations of non-collinear magnetic configurations and shown to be capable of explaining recent measurements of magnetic anisotropy energy (MAE). The site (Fe,Pt) resolved contributions to the MAE have been distinguished with small Fe easy-plane and large Pt easy-axis terms. This model has been tested against available experimental data on the temperature dependence of MAE showing scaling of uniaxial MAE (K$_{1}$(T)) with magnetization (M(T)) $K_{1}(T) \sim M(T)^γ$ characterized by the unusual exponent of $γ= 2.1$. It is shown that this unusual behavior of the FePt can be quantitatively explained within the proposed model and originates from an effective anisotropic exchange mediated by the induced Pt moment. The latter is expected to be a common feature of 3d-5d(4d) alloys having 5d/4d elements with large spin-orbit coupling and exchange enhanced Stoner susceptibility.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2004

Vortex state oscillations in soft magnetic cylindrical dots

We have studied magnetic vortex oscillations in soft sub-micron cylindrical dots with variable thickness and diameter by an analytical approach and micromagnetic simulations. We have considered two kinds of modes of the vortex magnetization oscillations: 1) low-frequency translation mode, corresponding to the movement of the vortex as a whole near its equilibrium position; 2) high-frequency vortex modes, which correspond to radially symmetric oscillations of the vortex magnetization, mainly outside the vortex core. The vortex translational eigenmode was calculated numerically in frequency and time domains for different dot aspect ratios. To describe the discrete set of vortex high-frequency modes we applied the linearized equation of motion of dynamic magnetization over the vortex ground state. We considered only radially symmetric magnetization oscillations modes. The eigenfrequencies of both kinds of excitation modes are determined by magnetostatic interactions. They are proportional to the thickness/diameter ratio and lie in the GHz range for typical dot sizes.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2004

Spin accumulation in ferromagnets

Using a density matrix formulation for the effective action, we obtain a set of macroscopic equations that describe spin accumulation in a non-homogeneous ferromagnet. We give a new expression for the spin current which extends previous work by taking into account the symmetry of the ferromagnetic state through a careful treatment of the exchange term between the conduction electrons and the magnetization, i.e, d-electrons. We consider a simple application which has been discussed previously and show that in this case spin accumulation is an interface effect confirming earlier results arrived at by different methods.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2002

Brownian dynamics approach to interacting magnetic moments

The question how to introduce thermal fluctuations in the equation of motion of a magnetic system is addressed. Using the approach of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem we calculate the properties of the noise for both, the fluctuating field and fluctuating torque (force) representation. In contrast to earlier calculations we consider the general case of a system of interacting magnetic moments without the assumption of axial symmetry. We show that the interactions do not result in any correlations of thermal fluctuations in the field representation and that the same widely used formula can be used in the most general case. We further prove that close to the equilibrium where the fluctuation-dissipation theorem is valid, both, field and torque (force) representations coincide, being different far away from it.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv1999

Monte Carlo simulation with time step quantification in terms of Langevin dynamics

For the description of thermally activated dynamics in systems of classical magnetic moments numerical methods are desirable. We consider a simple model for isolated magnetic particles in a uniform field with an oblique angle to the easy axis of the particles. For this model, a comparison of the Monte Carlo method with Langevin dynamics yields new insight in the interpretation of the Monte Carlo process, leading to the implementation of a new algorithm where the Monte Carlo step is time-quantified. The numeric results for the characteristic time of the magnetisation reversal are in excellent agreement with asymptotic solutions which itself are in agreement with the exact numerical results obtained from the Fokker-Planck equation for the Neel-Brown model.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗