Analytic theory of wall configuration and depinning mechanism in magnetic nanostructure with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy

We present an analytic theory of the domain wall depinning in magnetic nanostructure with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. The variational principle reveals that the wall is bent in the form of a circular arc which intersects the structure boundaries perpendicularly. The radius is inversely proportional to the magnetic field. With increasing the field the radius shrinks, followed by depinning from the constriction when the arc is not geometrically allowed. The depinning field is proportional to the sine of the constriction angle and the inverse of the constriction width. The validity of the theory is confirmed by comparison with the micromagnetic simulation. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.