Vortex fluctuations and freezing of dipolar-coupled granular moments in thin ferromagnetic films

• Published in: arXiv.org 2006-05
• Main Authors: Kötzler, Jürgen, Görlitz, Detlef, Malte Kurfi\ss, Lars von Sawilski, Vedmedenko, Elena Y
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Computer simulation; Curie temperature; Depletion; Dipole interactions; Ferromagnetic films; Ferromagnetic materials; Freezing; Heat exchange; Heusler alloys; Magnetic induction; Magnetic permeability; Magnetic relaxation; Magnetization; Relaxation time; Temperature; Temperature dependence; Thin films; Variation; Vortices; Vorticity
• ISSN: 2331-8422
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.0605377

Below the Curie temperature T_c of a Heusler-alloy film, consisting of densely packed, but exchange-decoupled nanograins, the spontaneous magnetization M_s(T) and static in-plane susceptibility \chi_{||}(T) increase very slowly signalizing a suppression of magnetization fluctuations. The unpredicted variation \chi_{||}(T) ~ G_d^2(T), where G_d ~ M_s^2 is the intergranular dipolar coupling, and also the magnetic freezing observed in the dynamic susceptibility at lower temperatures is quantitatively reproduced by Monte Carlo (MC) simulations with 10^4 dipolar-coupled moments on a disordered triangular lattice. At high temperatures, the MC spin configurations clearly reveal a dense gas of local vortex structures, which at low temperatures condense in regions with stronger disorder. This vortex depletion upon decreasing temperature seems to be responsible for the observed \textit{increase} of the magnetic relaxation time. For weak disorder, the temperature dependence of the MC vorticity and a singularity of the specific heat at T_v=1/2 G_d(T_v)/k_B indicate a thermal transition from a vortex gas to a state with a single vortex center plus linear vortex structures.