Ratchet effects for paramagnetic beads above striped ferrite-garnet films

Abstract

We calculate the motion of a small paramagnetic bead which is manipulated by the stripe domain pattern of a ferrite-garnet film. A model for the bead's motion in a liquid above the film is developed and used to look for ratchet solutions, where the bead acquires net coherent motion in one direction when the external field is modulated periodically. We consider three cases. First, the ratchet, where the beads all go in the same direction. Second, the height dependent ratchet, where beads at different heights go in opposite direction. This case can be used to separate beads of different sizes, as considered in J. Phys. Chem. B 112, 3833 (2008). Third, we describe how the separation threshold can be tuned by changing the amplitude of the applied field. Finally, we describe a pseudo ratchet, where the external modulation is not periodic and the ratchet changes direction periodically.