Dynamics of stress-induced domain wall motion

Abstract

Magnetic domain wall motion caused by nonuniform stress in a magnetostrictive nanowire was studied using a semianalytical model. The study reveals that the axial stress gradient is responsible for domain wall motion, even in the absence of an applied magnetic field or spin-polarized current, and agrees well with previous micromagnetic calculations. Walls moving into a stress-induced energy well reach a maximum velocity that depends on the stress gradient, before undergoing damped oscillatory motion. This model will inform the development of emerging artificial multiferroic systems.