Dipole Interactions with Random Anisotropy: a Local-Mean-Field Study

Abstract

Dipolar systems with randomly directed anisotropy axes are analysed within a local-mean-field approach and in the Ising limit. The properties of the system are shown to be essentially identical to those characterizing Ising spin glasses. Accounting for some departures from the spin glass behaviour that have been found in experiments on frozen ferrofluids requires more involved modelling.