Monte Carlo simulation of the magnetization of a ferromagnet with antiphase boundaries

The magnetic properties of a ferromagnetic cylinder containing an antiphase boundary with antiferromagnetic interactions are studied using atomic Monte Carlo simulation. The approach to saturation shows a reduced magnetization compared with the completely ferromagnetic sample, even in huge applied fields. The magnetization profiles are studied as a function of the number of ferromagnetic planes in the cylinder with 80 atoms per plane and also as function of the ratio of the bulk-to-antiphase exchange coupling. Hysteresis appears after removing the applied field for relatively low antiphase boundary densities. It is shown that the antiferromagnetic coupling across the antiphase boundary leads to a progressive rotation of spins as the two half “domain walls” at the boundary with opposite chirality narrow with increasing applied field.