arXiv subjects

Samuel J. R. Holt

Publications and source records attributed to Samuel J. R. Holt.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

A Community-Developed Domain Ontology for Magnetic Materials

Magnetic materials play a crucial role in energy-related technologies, mobility, and sensing, but their complex multiscale behaviour and the coexistence of multiple unit systems pose persistent challenges for data exchange and interpretation. This paper presents a domain ontology for magnetic materials, developed within the European Union funded Magnetic Multiscale Modelling Suite (MaMMoS) project and aligned with the Elementary Multiperspective Material Ontology (EMMO). The ontology formalises intrinsic, hysteretic, and microstructural properties across multiple length scales and supports semantic interoperability between simulation tools, databases, and experimental workflows. One key feature of the ontology is its code-based and human-readable structure, enabled through the EMMOntoPy framework, which allows for direct manipulation and versioning without relying on opaque .owl or .ttl files. This facilitates collaborative development and improves transparency. The ontology supports FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) principles and is openly available for extension by the community. The aim of the MaMMoS project is to foster reproducibility, improve traceability, and promote the adoption of ontology in the magnetism domain. The ontology that has been developed already serves as the foundation for multiple software tools that handle all kinds of magnetic material data.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2026

Beyond Stoner-Wohlfarth: Machine-Learning Models and Symbolic Regression of Hard-Magnet Properties

Predicting the extrinsic properties from hysteresis loops of a magnetic grain, namely the coercive field, remanent magnetisation, and maximum energy product, from its intrinsic micromagnetic parameters is a central problem in permanent-magnet modelling. Established analytical models provide useful estimates but often neglect nonuniform magnetisation processes, whereas direct micromagnetic simulations are computationally expensive. In this work, we train machine-learning models on 12012 micromagnetic simulations of an idealised cubic grain, spanning broad ranges of the saturation magnetisation, exchange constant, and uniaxial anisotropy constant. Benchmarked against the analytical models on identical held-out data, the machine-learning models predict all three extrinsic properties with substantially lower errors. Symbolic regression recovers the Kronmüller form of the coercive field, with an effective demagnetising factor that depends on the material, and finds new closed-form expressions for the remanence and maximum energy product. Each law contains at most two fitted constants yet approaches the accuracy of the machine-learning models. We also investigate the inverse problem of recovering the intrinsic parameters from the three extrinsic properties. The saturation magnetisation and anisotropy constant are recovered accurately, whereas the exchange constant is not, because it influences the extrinsic properties only weakly. The trained models are released through the mammos-ai Python package, enabling thousands of candidate parameter sets to be screened in seconds rather than the hours or days required by direct micromagnetic simulation.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2026

Eigenmodes of synthetic antiferromagnetic skyrmions

We investigate the excitation modes of confined synthetic-antiferromagnetic (SAF) skyrmions using micromagnetic eigenvalue and ringdown simulations. Starting from a single skyrmion in a ferromagnetic layer, where the lowest-frequency modes are a gyrotropic and a breathing mode, we study how antiferromagnetic interlayer coupling modifies the dynamics in SAF bilayers. We consider several geometries: single SAF skyrmions in square and rectangular confinement, unequal layer thicknesses, and strips containing multiple skyrmions. The antiferromagnetic coupling strongly modifies the low-frequency dynamics. The square geometry exhibits two nearly degenerate gyrotropic modes, where in each both layers have the same rotation sense. In rectangular geometries, we instead find nearly linear SAF skyrmion translation emerging from opposite gyration sense in the two layers. These translational modes become the characteristic low-frequency excitations of SAF skyrmion chains. For skyrmion chains, we identify collective translational and breathing modes with standing-wave-like spatial profiles. Beyond ferromagnetic-like breathing modes, the SAF geometry supports breathing oscillations in which the two layers oscillate out of phase. We further demonstrate signal propagation along extended SAF skyrmion chains with propagation velocities comparable to ferromagnetic skyrmion chains. These results provide a systematic description of the collective dynamics of SAF skyrmions arising from the interplay of geometric confinement, intralayer, and interlayer coupling.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Discretization anisotropy in micromagnetic simulations

Finite difference based micromagnetic simulations are a powerful tool for the computational investigation of magnetic structures. In this paper, we demonstrate how the discretization of continuous micromagnetic equations introduces a numerical 'discretization anisotropy'. We demonstrate that, in certain scenarios, this anisotropy operates on an energy scale comparable to that of intrinsic physical phenomena. Furthermore, we illustrate that selecting appropriate finite difference stencils and minimizing the size of the discretization cells are effective strategies to mitigate discretization anisotropy.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2023

Controlling stable Bloch points with electric currents

The Bloch point is a point singularity in the magnetisation configuration, where the magnetisation vanishes. It can exist as an equilibrium configuration and plays an important role in many magnetisation reversal processes. In the present work, we focus on manipulating Bloch points in a system that can host stable Bloch points - a two-layer FeGe nanostrip with opposite chirality of the two layers. We drive Bloch points using spin-transfer torques and find that Bloch points can move collectively without any Hall effect and report that Bloch points are repelled from the sample boundaries and each other. We study pinning of Bloch points at wedge-shaped constrictions (notches) in the nanostrip and demonstrate that arrays of Bloch points can be moved past a series of notches in a controlled manner by applying consecutive current pulses of different strength. Finally, we simulate a T-shaped geometry and demonstrate that a Bloch point can be moved along different paths by applying current between suitable strip ends.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

Establishing magneto-structural relationships in the solid solutions of the skyrmion hosting family of materials: GaV$_4$S$_{8-y}$Se$_{y}$

The GaV$_4$S$_{8-y}$Se$_y$ $(y = 0$ to $8)$ family of materials have been synthesized in both polycrystalline and single crystal form, and their structural and magnetic properties thoroughly investigated. Each of these materials crystallizes in the $F\bar{4}3m$ space group at ambient temperature. However, in contrast to the end members GaV$_4$S$_8$ and GaV$_4$Se$_8$, that undergo a structural transition to the $R3m$ space group at 42 and 41 K respectively, the solid solutions $(y = 1$ to $7)$ retain cubic symmetry down to 1.5 K. In zero applied field the end members of the family order ferromagnetically at 13 K (GaV$_4$S$_8$) and 18 K (GaV$_4$Se$_8$), while the intermediate compounds exhibit a spin-glass-like ground state. We demonstrate that the magnetic structure of GaV$_4$S$_8$ shows localization of spins on the V cations, indicating that a charge ordering mechanism drives the structural phase transition. We conclude that the observation of both structural and ferromagnetic transitions in the end members of the series in zero field is a prerequisite for the stabilization of a skyrmion phase, and discuss how the absence of these transitions in the $y = 1$ to $7$ materials can be explained by their structural properties.

cond-mat.str-el↗