Dislocation-induced magnetization reversal in a ferromagnetic film

Abstract

We demonstrate that moving edge dislocations can induce the reversal of magnetization in a ferromagnetic film due to the Barnett effect. The dynamics of magnetization is studied numerically within a discretized Landau-Lifshitz equation on a hexagonal lattice containing over $10^5$ sites. Local coordinate frames coupled to the crystallographic axes for each spin are used together with the laboratory coordinate frame. The parameters of a hexagonal close-packed cobalt lattice have been chosen for illustration. The magnetization reversal from a metastable initial state created by the external magnetic field occurs on a time scale of a few picoseconds. Our results imply that fast local elastic twists generated by moving dislocations serve as an important mechanism of magnetization dynamics in solids subjected to a mechanical stress.