Spin-transfer torque in nonuniform magnetic structures

This chapter defines a magnetic domain wall (DW) as the transition region where the direction of magnetic moments gradually change between two neighbouring domains. It has been pointed out that ferromagnetic materials are not necessarily magnetized to saturation in the absence of an external magnetic field. Instead, they have magnetic domains, within each of which magnetic moments align. The formation of the magnetic domains is energetically favourable because this structure can lower the magnetostatic energy originating from the dipole–dipole interaction. A magnetic vortex realized in a ferromagnetic disk is a typical example of nonuniform magnetic structure. In very small ferromagnetic systems, where a curling spin configuration has been proposed to occur in place of domains, the formation of DWs is not energetically favored.