Efficient demagnetization protocol for the artificial triangular spin ice

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates an efficient demagnetization protocol for triangular artificial spin ice, revealing monopole-like excitations and providing insights for experimental studies of magnetic monopoles in such systems.

Contribution

It introduces a simple hysteresis-like demagnetization process that effectively reaches the ground state despite disorder, and highlights the role of monopole-like vertices in state transitions.

Findings

Hysteresis-like process efficiently reaches ground state

Transitions involve creation and propagation of magnetic monopole-like vertices

Protocol remains effective despite system disorder

Abstract

In this work we study demagnetization protocols for an artificial spin ice in a triangular geometry. Our results show that a simple hysteresis-like process is very efficient in driving the system to its ground state, even for a relatively strong disorder in the system, confirming previous expectations. In addition, transitions between the magnetized state and the ground state were observed to be mediated by the creation and propagation of vertices that behave like magnetic monopoles pseudo-particles. This is an important step towards a more detailed experimental study of monopole-like excitations in artificial spin ice systems.