We report evidence of the magnetization reversal in nanoparticles by surface acoustic waves (SAWs). The experimental system consists of isolated magnetite nanoparticles dispersed on a piezoelectric substrate. Magnetic relaxation from a saturated stat
e becomes significantly enhanced in the presence of the SAW at a constant temperature of the substrate. The dependence of the relaxation on SAW power and frequency has been investigated. The effect is explained by the effective ac magnetic field generated by the SAW in the nanoparticles.
We have studied Josephson tunneling through a circularly polarized micron or submicron-size disk of a soft ferromagnetic material. Such a disk contains a vortex that exhibits rich classical dynamics and has recently been proposed as a tool to study q
uantum dynamics of the nanoscale vortex core. The change in the Josephson current that is related to a tiny displacement of the vortex core has been computed analytically and plotted numerically for permalloy disks used in experiments. It is shown that a Josephson junction with a magnetic disk in the vortex state can be an interesting physical system that may be used to measure the nanoscale motion of the magnetic vortex.
Model of quantum depinning of magnetic vortex cores from line defects in a disk geometry and under the application of an in-plane magnetic field has been developed within the framework of the Caldeira-Leggett theory. The corresponding instanton solut
ions are computed for several values of the magnetic field. Expressions for the crossover temperature Tc and for the depinning rate Gamma(T) are obtained. Fitting of the theory parameters to experimental data is also presented.
Local time-resolved measurements of fast reversal of the magnetization of single crystals of Mn12-acetate indicate that the magnetization avalanche spreads as a narrow interface that propagates through the crystal at a constant velocity that is rough
ly two orders of magnitude smaller than the speed of sound. We argue that this phenomenon is closely analogous to the propagation of a flame front (deflagration) through a flammable chemical substance.
