Magnetic nanoparticle motion in external magnetic field

Abstract

A set of equations describing the motion of a free magnetic nanoparticle in an external magnetic field in a vacuum, or in a medium with negligibly small friction forces is postulated. The conservation of the total particle momentum, i.e. the sum of the mechanical and the total spin momentum of the nanoparticle is taken into account explicitly. It is shown that for the motion of a nanoparticle in uniform magnetic field there are three different modes of precession of the unit magnetization vector and the director that is parallel the particle easy anisotropy axis. These modes differ significantly in the precession frequency. For the high-frequency mode the director points approximately along the external magnetic field, whereas the frequency and the characteristic relaxation time of the precession of the unit magnetization vector are close to the corresponding values for conventional ferromagnetic resonance. On the other hand, for the low-frequency modes the unit magnetization vector and the director are nearly parallel and rotate in unison around the external magnetic field. The characteristic relaxation time for the low-frequency modes is remarkably long. This means that in a rare assembly of magnetic nanoparticles there is a possibility of additional resonant absorption of the energy of alternating magnetic field at a frequency that is much smaller compared to conventional ferromagnetic resonance frequency. The scattering of a beam of magnetic nanoparticles in a vacuum in a non-uniform external magnetic field is also considered taking into account the precession of the unit magnetization vector and director.