Boundary and finite-size effects in small magnetic systems

H. Kachkachi and D.A. Garanin

Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 2001, vol. 300, issue 3, 487-504

Abstract: We study the effect of free boundaries in finite magnetic systems of cubic shape on the field and temperature dependence of the magnetisation within the isotropic model of D-component spin vectors in the limit D→∞. This model is described by a closed system of equations and captures the Goldstone-mode effects such as global rotation of the magnetic moment and spin-wave fluctuations. We have obtained an exact relation between the intrinsic (short-range) magnetisation M=M(H,T) of the system and the induced magnetisation m=m(H,T) which is induced by the field. We have shown, analytically at low temperatures and fields and numerically in a wide range of these parameters, that boundary effects leading to the decrease of M with respect to the bulk value are stronger than the finite-size effects rendering a positive contribution to M. The inhomogeneities of the magnetisation caused by the boundaries are long ranged and extend far into the depth of the system.

Keywords: Fine particle systems; Surface magnetism; Classical spin models (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2001
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378437101003612
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only. Journal offers the option of making the article available online on Science direct for a fee of $3,000

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:phsmap:v:300:y:2001:i:3:p:487-504

DOI: 10.1016/S0378-4371(01)00361-2

Access Statistics for this article

Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications is currently edited by K. A. Dawson, J. O. Indekeu, H.E. Stanley and C. Tsallis

More articles in Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().