Existence and Structure of \(2\pi\)–Néel Walls in Thin Ferromagnetic Films

Hans Knüpfer (U Heidelberg)

Nov 17. 2026, 16:00 — 16:45

We study the existence and structure of one-dimensional 2𝜋-Néel walls in thin uniaxial ferromagnetic films. Such walls are topological defects that can be viewed as bound states of two oppositely charged π-walls, whose interaction is mediated by the nonlocal stray-field energy. We show that 2𝜋-walls exist for nonzero wall angles when the stray-field interaction is sufficiently weak, while at zero angle no minimizer exists. We characterize the internal structure of the wall and obtain quantitative bounds on the separation of its two constituent sub-walls. Finally, we derive the asymptotic scaling of the minimal energy, revealing the competition between nonlocal attraction and the local exchange and anisotropy energies that determines the wall width.

Further Information
Venue:
ESI Boltzmann Lecture Hall
Associated Event:
Microstructures in Materials (Workshop)
Organizer(s):
Peter Bella (TU Dortmund)
Roberta Marziani (U of Trento)
Pedro M. Reis (EPFL, Lausanne)
Ulisse Stefanelli (U of Vienna)
Barbara Zwicknagl (HU Berlin)