Effective temperature in an interacting vertex system: theory and experiment on artificial spin ice

Frustrated arrays of interacting single-domain nanomagnets provide important model systems for statistical mechanics, as 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 an...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inPhysical review letters Vol. 105; no. 4; p. 047205
Main Authors Nisoli, Cristiano, Li, Jie, Ke, Xianglin, Garand, D, Schiffer, Peter, Crespi, Vincent H
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 23.07.2010
Online AccessGet more information

Cover

More Information
Summary:Frustrated arrays of interacting single-domain nanomagnets provide important model systems for statistical mechanics, as 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 an effective temperature, controlled by an external magnetic drive, describes their microstates and therefore their full statistical properties.
ISSN:1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.105.047205