Morphology and local structure in labyrinthine stripe domain phase

Area of Science:

• Condensed matter physics
• Materials science
• Magnetism

Background:

• Thin ferrimagnetic garnet films exhibit complex labyrinthine stripe-domain patterns.
• Understanding the fundamental local structure of these nonequilibrium patterns is crucial for materials science.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the local structure of globally disordered, nonequilibrium labyrinthine stripe-domain patterns in thin ferrimagnetic garnet films.
• To identify the fundamental motif within these patterns and investigate its properties.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of "labyrinthine" stripe-domain patterns in thin ferrimagnetic garnet films.
• Investigated pattern formation via heating at constant magnetic field and demagnetization from saturation at constant temperature.

Main Results:

• A well-defined local structure, an oblong polygonal plaquette, was identified as the fundamental motif.
• Two types of labyrinths were observed: one with topological defects and one as a single meandering line.
• The size and aspect ratios of the plaquettes were independent of the trajectory used to reach the labyrinthine state.

Conclusions:

• The oblong polygonal plaquette is a universal local structure in these labyrinthine patterns.
• The independence of plaquette dimensions from different disordering mechanisms highlights a fundamental aspect of defect-mediated melting in 2D stripe phases.