Spontaneous phase transitions in ferrite garnet films

Spontaneous phase transitions in ferrite garnet films have been studied. It has been shown that, with variations in the temperature, domain walls undergo phase transitions which cause spontaneous phase transitions in the lattice of cylindrical magnetic domains. The phase transition in a domain wall causes a spin-reorientation phase transition over the whole sample near the magnetic compensation point. The character of the phase transition in the domain wall determines the mechanism of the spin-reorientation phase transition.     

Localised spin waves and domain walls stability in four-sublattice antiferromagnet La2CuO4

Domain walls in the four-sublattice antiferromagnet La₂CuO₄ are considered. The spin waves spectrum on the single domain wall is studied. The stability of the walls and the intrawalls phase transitions are analysed.     

Wetting phenomena in the (3 × 1) phase of a model for H on Fe(110)

Interfaces between the three physically distinct, but equivalent domains in the (3 × 1) phase of a lattice gas model for the adsorbate system H/Fe(110) and its Ising analog are studied. In the ground state two types of wetting transitions are found where a light or a heavy domain wall decomposes into two heavy or two light walls separated by the third domain. These transitions give rise to wetting lines in the phase diagram which are located using Monte Carlo techniques.     

Experimental characterization of domain walls dynamics in a photorefractive oscillator

We report on the experimental characterization of domain wall dynamics in a photorefractive resonator in a degenerate four-wave mixing configuration. We show how the non-flat profile of the emitted field affects the velocity of domain walls as well as the variations of intensity and phase gradient during their motion. We find a clear correlation between these two last quantities that allows the experimental determination of the chirality that governs the domain walls’ dynamics. PACS 42.65.Sf; 47.54.+r; 42.65.Hw     

Phase transitions in two-dimensional uniformly frustratedXY models. II. General scheme

For two-dimensional uniformly frustratedXY models the group of symmetry spontaneously broken in the ground state is a cross product of the group of two-dimensional rotations by some discrete group of finite order. Different possibilities of phase transitions in such systems are investigated. The transition to the Coulomb gas with noninteger charges is widely used when analyzing the properties of relevant topological excitations. The number of these excitations includes not only domain walls and traditional (integer) vortices, but also vortices with a fractional number of circulation quanta which are to be localized at bends and intersections of domain walls. The types of possible phase transitions prove to be dependent on their relative sequence: in the case the vanishing of domain wall free energy occurs earlier (at increasing temperature) than the dissociation of pairs of ordinary vortices, the second phase transition is to be associated with dissociation of pairs of fractional vortices. The general statements are illustrated with a number of examples.     

Classical φ6-field theory in (1+1) dimensions. A model for structural phase transitions

The classical φ⁶-field theory in (1+1) dimensions, is considered as a model for the first order structural phase transitions. The equation of motion is solved exactly; and the presence of domain wall (kink) solutions at and below the transition point, in addition to the usual phonon-like oscillatory solutions, is demonstrated. The domain wall solutions are shown to be stable, and their mass and energies are calculated. Above the transition point there exists exotic unstable kink-like solutions which takes the particle from one hill top to the other of the potential. The partition function of the system is calculated exactly using the functional integral method together with the transfer matrix techniques which necessitates the determination of the eigenvalues of a Schrödinger-like equation. Thus the exact free energy is evaluated which in the low temperature limit has a phonon part and a contribution coming from the domain wall excitations. It was shown that this domain wall free energy differs from that calculated by the use of the domain wall phenomenology proposed by Krumhansl and Schrieffer. The exact solutions of the Schrödinger-like equation are also used to evaluate the displacement-displacement, intensity-intensity correlation functions and the probability distribution function. These results are compared with those obtained from the phenomenology as well as the φ⁴-field theory. A qualitative picture of the central peak observed in structural phase transitions is proposed.     

Order-disorder-order phase transitions between metastable modifications of biperiodic stripe domain structures

Magnetooptic methods were used to observe the existence of magnetic-field-induced order-disorder-order phase transitions between metastable modifications of biperiodic stripe domain structures in magneto-uniaxial iron garnet films having a low positive anisotropy constant. It is shown that the loss of long-range order in the system in a certain range of variation of the field is caused by the loss of correlation between the quasi-harmonic surface distortions of the profile of neighboring domain walls.     

Domain wall theory of elementary excitations in anisotropic antiferromagneticS=1 chains

We present a theoretical investigation of elementary excitations in anisotropic antiferromagneticS=1 chains using the concept of domain walls in string (hidden) order. Domain walls are classified by the internal spin projectionS _dw ^z . We calculate energies and string correlation 0 functions of low lying excited states of the domain wall type in the Haldane phase and compare the results to those of numerical computations. The boundaries of the Haldane phase are determined from the instability of these excitations with respect to the ground state. The interaction between two domain walls is found to be proportional to the productS _dw ^z , S _dw ^z ₂, it is effectively repulsive 0140 for equal spin projections.     

Domain dynamics and magneto-electronics in magnetic thin films and nanowires

Recent theoretical results are highlighted that illustrate some of the interesting phenomena associated with magnetic domain boundary walls. Two problems will be discussed: dynamics associated with domain wall propagation, and effects related to spin transport through domain walls. For the first problem, an example of wall interaction and motion through a random potential will be discussed with reference to the general problem of roughening transitions. Images of domain dynamics in thin films of ion irradiated Co reveal a de-roughening transition associated with long range magnetostatic interactions between pairs of domain walls. A scaling theory of this transition is described in which a curious type of dynamic hysteresis can occur. For the second problem, results from calculations of ballistic charge and spin transport through domain boundary walls are discussed in terms of an effective circuit model.     

Coercivity of precipitation hardened cobalt rare earth 17:2 permanent magnets

The influence of the microstructure on the coercivity has been investigated by means of transmission electron microscopy. It is shown that a thin coherent (CoCu)₅Sm-cell boumdary phase, separating cells of 17:2-crystal structure, acts as a pinning centre for magnetic domain walls. The attractive interaction force is interpreted in terms of a micromagnetic theory for domain wall pinning. The coercive force is determined by the domain wall energy gradient and by the magnetoelastic coupling energy between domain wall stresses and lattice deformation strains. The calculated coercive force due to the lattice mismatch, originated by the cellular coherent precipitation structure, is comparable to the experimentally obtained values.     

Ginzburg-Landau theory of static domain walls in shape-memory alloys

A one-dimensional static Ginzburg-Landau theory for the martensitic phase transitions in shape-memory alloys is developed. From the equilibrium conditions the structure of static domain walls of martensite-martensite as well as of martensite-austenite type is calculated. In the finite crystal a discrete spectrum of domain structures results whereas in an unbounded crystal there are four types of domain walls. For each type of walls the energy is calculated.     

“Unusual” domain walls in multilayer systems: Ferromagnet + layered antiferromagnet

The structure and conditions for the onset of a new type of domain wall in multilayer systems comprising a ferromagnet and a layered antiferromagnet is investigated by numerical simulation. Domain walls occur as the result of frustrations produced by interface roughness, i.e., by the existence of atomic steps on them. The domain walls are investigated both in a ferromagnetic film on a layered antiferromagnetic substrate and in multilayer structures. It is shown that a domain wall broadens with increasing distance from the interface; this trend is attributed to the nontrivial dependence of the wall energy on the thickness of the layer. The structure of the domain walls in multilayer ferromagnet-layered antiferromagnet systems varies dramatically as a function of the energies of interlayer and in-layer exchange interactions between adjacent layers. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 114, 1817–1826 (November 1998)     

Large RF susceptibility of transverse domain walls

Changes in domain wall resistance under radio-frequency (RF) irradiation are experimentally studied for transverse walls. An original experimental technique is applied to the measurement in a permalloy nano-stripe with a notch, where the walls are found to provide a largely enhanced resistive response as compared to saturated domains. Their susceptibility is found to be an order of magnitude larger than that of the domains in a frequency range between 5 and 20 GHz. We argue that the RF fields induce an internal distortion of the magnetization profile that depends on the shape of the domain wall.     

Domain wall theory of elementary excitations in anisotropic antiferromagneticS=1 chains

We present a theoretical investigation of elementary excitations in anisotropic antiferromagneticS=1 chains using the concept of domain walls in string (hidden) order. Domain walls are classified by the internal spin projectionS _dw ^z . We calculate energies and string correlation functions of low lying excited states of the domain wall type in the Haldane phase and compare the results to those of numerical computations. The boundaries of the Haldane phase are determined from the instability of these excitations with respect to the ground state. The interaction between two domain walls is found to be proportional to the productS _dw ^z , S _dw ^z ₂, it is effectively repulsive for equal spin projections.     

Hysteretic resistance spikes in quantum hall ferromagnets without domains

We use spin-density-functional theory to study recently reported hysteretic magnetoresistance rho(xx) spikes in Mn-based 2D electron gases [Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 266802 (2002)10.1103/PhysRevLett.89.266802]. We find hysteresis loops in our calculated Landau fan diagrams and total energies signaling quantum Hall ferromagnet phase transitions. Spin-dependent exchange-correlation effects are crucial to stabilize the relevant magnetic phases arising from distinct symmetry-broken excited- and ground-state solutions of the Kohn-Sham equations. Besides hysteretic spikes in rho(xx), we predict hysteretic dips in the Hall resistance rho(xy). Our theory, without domain walls, satisfactorily explains the recent data.     

Domain walls in modulated systems

The properties of discommensurations in modulated phases of the ANNNI-(Axial Next Nearest Neighbour Interaction) model are described. A method is presented for deriving wall profiles, free energies, and interaction energies from a fixed point expansion of the 4d mapping representing the MFA equilibrium equations. Implications for the characteristics of phase diagrams and transitions are discussed.     

Domino mechanisms in photoinduced phase transitions

Photoinduced structural phase transitions via excited electronic states are discussed theoretically using a one-dimensional model composed of localized electrons and lattices under the adiabatic or diabatic approximation. We show that the global structural change by photoexcitation only at a site is possible, and we clarify conditions for the occurrence of such phenomena. Spatiotemporal dynamics of nonequilibrium first-order phase transitions is also investigated in detail in terms of photoinduced nucleations and domino processes of the domain boundaries (domain walls), which are in striking contrast to the mean-field dynamics. In the adiabatic regime, after the spontaneous emission of a photon, an initial local structural change (i) remains locally, (ii) induces cooperatively a global structural change, or (iii) disappears and returns to the initial phase. Dynamical features of the case (ii) are characterized by the deterministic (semichaotic) domino process; domain walls between the two phases move determinis-tically at a constant velocity (with changing speed) without further spontaneous emissions in the case of strong (weak) dissipation. In the diabatic regime, similar three types of structural change exist. The domain-wall dynamics is described as the stochastic domino process, which is accompanied by the successive radiative transitions. A new theoretical treatment is also proposed to study crossover between the adiabatic and diabatic regimes.     

Phase transitions, stability, and dielectric response of the domain structure in ferroelectric-ferroelastic thin films

The first analytical study of phase transitions and domain structure in ferroelastic-ferroelectric epitaxial thin films is presented for an exactly solvable model. The emerging domain structure with domains of equal width (which may be exponentially large) remains stable irrespective of the film thickness. Shifts of the domain walls, unexpectedly, contribute nothing (or insignificantly) to the dielectric response of the film. Generally, the motion of the domain walls results in about the same contribution to the response as the one that comes from a standard bulk term. Therefore, no particular softening of the dielectric response is expected to occur due to the motion of domain walls.     

Nonlinear dynamics of domain walls with cross-ties

The dynamic behavior of a domain wall with cross-ties is analyzed on the basis of micromagnetic simulation with exact allowance for all main (exchange, magnetoanisotropic, and magnetostatic) interactions in thin magnetically uniaxial ferromagnetic films with planar anisotropy. It is found that the peculiarities of motion of such domain walls are closely related to the behavior of topological defects in the magnetization distribution (generation, motion, and annihilation of vortex–antivortex pairs on the film surface and Bloch points). We observe three different regimes of motion (stationary, periodic, and turbulent regimes), each of which is realized in a certain range of fields oriented along the easy magnetization axis. It is shown that the experimentally observed dynamic bends of the walls with cross-ties are determined by the type of motion of vortices and antivortices. The velocities of domain walls in different regimes are calculated, and the dynamic configurations of the magnetization and existing dynamic transitions between them are investigated.