Effective Temperature in an Interacting, Externally Driven, Vertex System: Theory and Experiment on Artificial Spin Ice

Frustrated arrays of interacting single-domain nanomagnets provide important model systems for statistical mechanics, because they map closely onto well-studied vertex models and are amenable to direct imaging and custom engineering. Although these systems are manifestly athermal, we demonstrate tha...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inarXiv.org
Main Authors Nisoli, Cristiano, Li, Jie, Ke, Xianglin, Garand, D, Schiffer, Peter, Crespi, Vincent H
Format Paper Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Ithaca Cornell University Library, arXiv.org 19.05.2010
Subjects
Lattices
Physics - Materials Science
Physics - Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Physics - Statistical Mechanics
Spin ice
Statistical mechanics
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Summary:Frustrated arrays of interacting single-domain nanomagnets provide important model systems for statistical mechanics, because they map closely onto well-studied vertex models and are amenable to direct imaging and custom engineering. Although these systems are manifestly athermal, we demonstrate that the statistical properties of both hexagonal and square lattices can be described by an effective temperature based on the magnetostatic energy of the arrays. This temperature has predictive power for the moment configurations and is intimately related to how the moments are driven by an oscillating external field.
ISSN:2331-8422
DOI:10.48550/arxiv.1005.3463