Mechanical Actuation of Magnetic Domain-Wall Motion

TL;DR

This paper presents a theoretical analysis of how elastic waves can induce motion in magnetic domain walls in one-dimensional wires, highlighting the role of symmetries and conservation laws.

Contribution

It introduces a novel theoretical framework connecting elastic wave polarization to domain wall dynamics via symmetry considerations.

Findings

Elastic waves can drive ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic domain walls.

Conservation of angular and linear momentum explains the forces on domain walls.

Circular and linear polarized waves selectively induce domain wall motion.

Abstract

We theoretically study the motion of a magnetic domain wall induced by transverse elastic waves in a one-dimensional magnetic wire, which respects both rotational and translational symmetries. By invoking the conservation of the associated total angular and linear momenta, we are able to derive the torque and the force on the domain wall exerted by the waves. We then show how ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic domain walls can be driven by circularly- and linear-polarized waves, respectively. We envision that elastic waves may provide effective means to drive the dynamics of magnetic solitons in insulators.