ASYMPTOTIC DEPENDENCE OF THE RELAXATION-TIME OF THE MAGNETIZATION OF A FERROMAGNETIC PARTICLE ON THE ANISOTROPY OF THE PARTICLE

It is known that the direction of the magnetization vector of very fine single-domain ferromagnetic particles fluctuates under the influence of thermal agitation. Perturbation theory is applied rigorously to a singular integral equation to derive an asymptotic formula for the relaxation time of the magnetization, for the case of uniaxial anisotropy and an applied magnetic field. The result agrees with that of Brown [Phys. Rev. 130, 1677 (1963)] as described succinctly by Aharoni [Phys. Rev. 177, 793 (1969)]. It should be emphasized that both Gilbert's equation and the earlier Landau-Lifshitz equation are merely phenomenological equations, which are used to explain the time decay of the average magnetization. Brown suggested that the Gilbert equation should be augmented by a white-noise driving term in order to explain the effect of thermal fluctuations of the surroundings on the magnetization.