Domain Wall Migration in 3-d in the Presence of Diffusing Impurities

A new three-dimensional simulation procedure was developed for domain wall (grain boundary, APB, magnetic, etc.) migration in the presence of diffusing impurities. The simulation is based upon a kinetic Monte Carlo algorithm and an extended Ising model, incorporating both conserved and non-conserved dynamics. The simulations show a dependence of the domain wall velocity on driving force which is very similar to that seen in 2-d and in qualitative agreement with experiment. That is, the presence of a low mobility regime at small driving force and an abrupt transition to a high mobility regime at larger forces, under some conditions, and a continuous, non-linear dependence of the velocity on the force in others. The main qualitative difference between the 2-d and 3-d simulation results is in how the domain wall roughness depends on driving force. The velocity-driving force relation is not consistent with classic continuum models, but may be described, in the high velocity regime, by a theory based upon a discrete version of these models.     

Micromagnetic analysis of current-driven DW dynamics along rough strips with high perpendicular anisotropy at room temperature

Domain-wall motion along thin ferromagnetic strips with high perpendicular magnetocrystalline anisotropy driven by spin-polarized currents is theoretically analyzed by means of full micromagnetic simulations and one-dimensional model, both including surface roughness and thermal effects. At finite temperature, the results show a current dependence of the domain wall velocity in good qualitative agreement with available experimental observations, depicting a low-current, low velocity creep regime, and a high-current, linear regime separated by a smeared depinning region. The analysis points out the relevance of both thermal fluctuations and surface roughness on the domain wall dynamics, and confirms that these effects are essential to get a better understanding on the origin, the role and the magnitude of the non-adiabaticity by direct comparison with experiments.     

The stochastic nature of the domain wall motion along high perpendicular anisotropy strips with surface roughness

The domain wall dynamics along thin ferromagnetic strips with high perpendicular magnetocrystalline anisotropy driven by either magnetic fields or spin-polarized currents is theoretically analyzed by means of full micromagnetic simulations and a one-dimensional model, including both surface roughness and thermal effects. At finite temperature, the results show a field dependence of the domain wall velocity in good qualitative agreement with available experimental measurements, indicating a low field, low velocity creep regime, and a high field, linear regime separated by a smeared depinning region. Similar behaviors were also observed under applied currents. In the low current creep regime the velocity-current characteristic does not depend significantly on the non-adiabaticity. At high currents, where the domain wall velocity becomes insensitive to surface pinning, the domain wall shows a precessional behavior even when the non-adiabatic parameter is equal to the Gilbert damping. These analyses confirm the relevance of both thermal fluctuations and surface roughness for the domain wall dynamics, and that complete micromagnetic modeling and one-dimensional studies taking into account these effects are required to interpret the experimental measurements in order to get a better understanding of the origin, the role and the magnitude of the non-adiabaticity.     

Hysteresis mediated by a domain wall motion

The position of an interface (domain wall) in a medium with random pinning defects is not determined unambiguously by the instantaneous value of the driving force, even on average. Employing the general theory of the interface motion in a random medium, we study this hysteresis, different possible shapes of the hysteresis loop, and the dynamical phase transitions between them. Several principal characteristics of the hysteresis, including the coercive force and the curves of dynamical phase transitions obey scaling laws and display a critical behavior in the vicinity of the mobility threshold. At finite temperature the threshold is smeared and a new range of thermally activated hysteresis appears. At a finite frequency of the driving force there exists a range of the non-adiabatic regime in which not only the position, but also the average velocity of the domain wall, displays hysteresis.     

Influence of the magnetoelastic anisotropy on the domain wall dynamics in bistable amorphous wires

We deal with the influence of the applied stress on the domain wall velocity in glass-coated magnetic microwires. In general, the domain wall velocity decreases with the applied tensile stress. Four regimes of the domain wall dynamics appear: (1)?diffusion-damped, (2)?a regime with variable domain wall width, (3)?a viscous and (4)?a vortex regime. Detailed analysis of domain wall parameters shows that the structural relaxation plays an important role even at ambient temperatures if high tensile stress is present. At higher fields (viscous regime), the most important damping arises from magnetic relaxation of magnetic moments. Finally, the domain wall velocity steeply increases (reaching a maximum at 7000?m?s(-1)) in the vortex regime and so does the domain wall mobility.     

Statistical theory of the pinning of Bloch walls by randomly distributed defects

The coercive force is calculated for a rigid and a one- or two-dimensionally vaulted Bloch wall on the basis of a statistical theory. It is shown that the validity of the various pinning models developed previously depends on the defect density, the interaction force, and the area and flexibility of the domain wall. Our theoretical results are confirmed by a computer simulation of the pinning problem. The study of the temperature dependence of the coercive force proves to be a sensitive test to decide which pinning model applies.     

Numerical simulations on the motion of atoms travelling through a standing-wave light field

The motion of metastable helium atoms travelling through a standing light wave is investigated with a semi-classical numerical model. The results of a calculation including the velocity dependence of the dipole force are compared with those of the commonly used approach, which assumes a conservative dipole force. The comparison is made for two atom guiding regimes that can be used for the production of nanostructure arrays; a low power regime, where the atoms are focused in a standing wave by the dipole force, and a higher power regime, in which the atoms channel along the potential minima of the light field. In the low power regime the differences between the two models are negligible and both models show that, for lithography purposes, pattern widths of 150 nm can be achieved. In the high power channelling regime the conservative force model, predicting 100 nm features, is shown to break down. The model that incorporates velocity dependence, resulting in a structure size of 40 nm, remains valid, as demonstrated by a comparison with quantum Monte-Carlo wavefunction calculations.Received: 11 December 2002, Published online: 29 July 2003PACS: 02.60.Cb Numerical simulation; solution of equations - 32.80.Lg Mechanical effects of light on atoms, molecules, and ions - 81.16.Rf Nanoscale pattern formationL. Feenstra: Present address: Physikalisches Institut, Universität Heidelberg, Philosophenweg 12, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.     

Theory of retardation of magnetic domain walls in rhombic magnetic materials

We calculate the retardation of a magnetic soliton describing a magnetic domain wall by using the generalized phenomenological theory of relaxation. We show that in this theory, based on the real dynamical symmetry of magnetic materials, the dissipation function has a different structure for high and low wall velocities. Finally, we calculate the viscous force of the wall in the Walker model and show that certain features, not discussed in the literature, emerge even when the generalized theory is applied to this simple model. In particular, the dependence of the viscous friction force on the wall velocity may be highly nonlinear and regions of unstable motion may appear. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 111, 158–173 (January 1997)     

NUMERICAL STUDIES ON THE DYNAMICS OF DISORDERED VORTEX LATTICE

Flow behavior of the driven two-dimensional vortex lattice is numerically studied with different densities of randomly distributed pointlike pinning centers. Different features in the curves of velocity-force dependence are found between the elastic and plastic regimes. Scaling fit between force and velocity above the critical driving force can be obtained in the elastic regime but fails in the plastic regime. Transition from the lastic to plastic regimes is accompanied by maximum peaks in the differential curves of velocity-force dependence in the disordered vortex lattice.     

Current induced domain wall motion in GaMnAs close to the Curie temperature

Domain wall dynamics produced by spin transfer torques is investigated in (Ga, Mn)As ferromagnetic semiconducting tracks with perpendicular anisotropy, close to the Curie temperature. The domain wall velocities are found to follow a linear flow regime which only slightly varies with temperature. Using the D?ring inequality, boundaries of the spin polarization of the current are deduced. A comparison with the predictions of the mean field k·p theory leads to an estimation of the carrier density whose value is compatible with results published in the literature. The spin polarization of the current and the magnetization of the magnetic atoms present similar temperature variations. This leads to a weak temperature dependence of the spin drift velocity and thus of the domain wall velocity. A combined study of field- and current-driven motion and deformation of magnetic domains reveals a motion of domain walls in the steady state regime without transition to the precessional regime. The ratio between the non-adiabatic torque β and the Gilbert damping factor α is shown to remain close to unity.     

Time-domain observation of the spinmotive force in permalloy nanowires

The spinmotive force associated with a moving domain wall is observed directly in Permalloy nanowires using real time voltage measurements with proper subtraction of the electromotive force. Whereas the wall velocity exhibits nonlinear dependence on magnetic field, the generated voltage increases linearly with the field. We show that the sign of the voltage reverses when the wall propagation direction is altered. Numerical simulations explain quantitatively these features of spinmotive force and indicate that it scales with the field even in a field range where the wall motion is no longer associated with periodic angular rotation of the wall magnetization.     

Ratchetlike dynamics of fluxons in annular Josephson junctions driven by biharmonic microwave fields

Experimental observation of the unidirectional motion of a topological soliton driven by a biharmonic ac force of zero mean is reported. The observation is made by measuring the current-voltage characteristics for a fluxon trapped in an annular Josephson junction that was placed into a microwave field. The dependence of the fluxon mean velocity at zero dc bias versus the phase shift between the first and second harmonic of the driving force is in qualitative agreement with theoretical expectations.     

Domain wall creep in epitaxial ferroelectric Pb(Zr(0.2)Ti(0.08)O(3) thin films

Ferroelectric switching and nanoscale domain dynamics were investigated using atomic force microscopy on monocrystalline Pb(Zr(0.2)Ti(0.8))O(3) thin films. Measurements of domain size versus writing time reveal a two-step domain growth mechanism, in which initial nucleation is followed by radial domain wall motion perpendicular to the polarization direction. The electric field dependence of the domain wall velocity demonstrates that domain wall motion in ferroelectric thin films is a creep process, with the critical exponent mu close to 1. The dimensionality of the films suggests that disorder is at the origin of the observed creep behavior.     

Theoretical and experimental studies on mesoscale flame propagation and extinction

Mesoscale flame propagation and extinction of premixed flames in channels are investigated theoretically and experimentally. Emphasis is placed on the effect of wall heat loss and the wall–flame interaction via heat recirculation. At first, an analytical solution of flame speed in mesoscale channels is obtained. The results showed that channel width, flow velocity, and wall thermal properties have dramatic effects on the flame propagation and lead to multiple flame regimes and extinction limits. With the decrease in channel width, there exist two distinct flame regimes, a fast burning regime and a slow burning regime. The existence of the new flame regime and its extended flammability limit render the classical quenching diameter inapplicable. Furthermore, the results showed that at optimum conditions of flow velocity and wall thermal properties, mesoscale flames can propagate faster than the adiabatic flame. Second, numerical simulation with detailed chemistry demonstrated the existence of multiple flame regimes. The results also showed that there is a non-linear dependence of the flame speed on equivalence ratio. Moreover, it is shown that the Nusselt number has a significant impact on this non-linear dependence. Finally, the non-linear dependence of flame speed on equivalence ratio for both flame regimes is measured using a C₃H₈–air mixture. The results are in good agreement with the theory and numerical simulation.     

Fast domain wall dynamics in amorphous glass-coated microwires

Here we report on the domain wall dynamics in amorphous glass-coated FeCuNbSiB microwires measured in the temperature range from 77 up to 400 K. At low temperatures below 200 K, the domain wall velocity is proportional to the applied magnetic field. At temperatures above 200 K, two regions have been found: one with low domain wall mobility at low fields and another one with high domain wall mobility at high fields. The different regions of the domain wall dynamics are treated in terms of the change of the domain wall configuration from transversal to vortex one. Moreover, non-linear regime is shown at low fields at the temperature 373 K as a result of the domain wall interaction with the local defects.     

Current driven domain wall velocities exceeding the spin angular momentum transfer rate in permalloy nanowires

The velocity of domain walls driven by current in zero magnetic field is measured in permalloy nanowires using real-time resistance measurements. The domain wall velocity increases with increasing current density, reaching a maximum velocity of approximately 110 m/s when the current density in the nanowire reaches approximately 1.5 x 10(8) A/cm(2). Such high current driven domain wall velocities exceed the estimated rate at which spin angular momentum is transferred to the domain wall from the flow of spin polarized conduction electrons, suggesting that other driving mechanisms, such as linear momentum transfer, need to be taken into account.     

Solitary deflection waves on the supersonic domain wall in yttrium orthoferrite

The moving antiferromagnetic vortices are accompanied by solitary deflection waves. These waves allow to investigate generation and nonlinear dynamics of the antiferromagnetic vortices on the moving domain wall with the help of the two- and three-fold digital high speed photography. On the quasi-relativistic domain wall the vortex dynamics is quasi-relativistic with the limiting velocity c=20 km/s, which is equal to the spin-wave velocity. The solitary deflection waves dynamics can be explained assuming existence of the gyroscopic force. A theory for the gyroscopic force in the orthoferrite domain wall is elaborating by A.K. Zvezdin et al. currently. We present a comparison of the theoretical and experimental results on the dynamics of the solitary deflection waves, which accompany the antiferromagnetic vortices in the domain wall of orthoferrites.     

Model for domain wall avalanches in ferromagnetic thin films

The Barkhausen jumps or avalanches in magnetic domain-walls motion between successive pinned configurations, due the competition among magnetic external driving force and substrum quenched disorder, appear in bulk materials and thin films. We introduce a model based in rules for the domain wall evolution of ferromagnetic media with exchange or short-range interactions, that include disorder and driving force effects. We simulate in 2-dimensions with Monte Carlo dynamics, calculate numerically distributions of sizes and durations of the jumps and find power-law critical behavior. The avalanche-size exponent is in excellent agreement with experimental results for thin films and is close to predictions of the other models, such as like random-field and random-bond disorder, or functional renormalization group. The model allows us to review current issues in the study of avalanches motion of the magnetic domain walls in thin films with ferromagnetic interactions and opens a new approach to describe these materials with dipolar or long-range interactions.     

Translational oscillations of a microsphere in superfluid helium

The translational motion of a microsphere (radius 100 μm) in liquid helium is investigated. The sphere is levitating inside a superconducting capacitor and oscillates about its equilibrium position. The velocity amplitude and the resonance frequency are measured as a function of driving force and temperature (0.35 K up to 2.2 K). By increasing the driving force we first find a linear regime (laminar flow) which changes abruptly into a nonlinear one (turbulent flow). For temperatures below 0.7 K the linear drag is given by ballistic roton and phonon scattering whereas for temperatures above 1.1 K the hydrodynamic force on the sphere is described by Stoke's solution. In the turbulent regime, above a temperature independent threshold velocity, we find the drag force to be given by turbulence in the superfluid component plus an essentially laminar drag by the normal component.