Domain walls and the conductivity of mesoscopic ferromagnets

Abstract

Quantum interference phenomena in the conductivity of mesoscopic ferromagnets are considered, particularly with regard to the effects of geometric phases acquired by electrons propagating through regions of spatially varying magnetization (due, e.g., to magnetic domain walls). Weak localization and electron-electron interaction quantum corrections to the conductivity and universal conductance fluctuations are discussed. Experiments are proposed for multiply-connected geometries that should reveal conductance oscillations with variations of the profile of the magnetization.