2001/06/30 by Stefano Zapperi, Alessandro Magni, Gianfranco Durin
Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Magnetic Properties and Applications #Magnetic properties of thin films #Theoretical and Computational Physics #cond-mat.dis-nn #cond-mat.mtrl-sci
paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/s0304-8853(01)01131-3
published as J. Magn. Magn. Mat. 242-245P2, 987 (2002) · 14 pages, 5 figures, to appear in J. Magn. Magn. Mat., proceedings of JEMS 2001
arxiv created 2002/01/07 · openalex publication_date 2002/04/01 · arxiv updated 2009/11/30 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The hysteresis properties of ferromagnetic materials at low field are described by the Rayleigh law. We analyze the problem in light of modern statistical mechanics models of hysteresis. In particular, we compute the demagnetization curve and derive the Rayleigh parameters a and b in the random-field Ising model and in a model of domain wall depinning. In the random-field Ising model the Rayleigh law is obeyed only in the disorder dominated phase, while in the low disorder phase it is not possible to demagnetize the sample. This approach allows us to link a and b to microstructural parameters, such as the domain wall energy, the internal disorder or the exchange interactions. Finally, our results are compared with experiments.