# Competing interactions in artificial spin chains

## TL;DR

This study explores how competing interactions in artificial spin chains lead to various magnetic phases, revealing a richer phase diagram than previously thought and demonstrating the ability to observe metastable configurations.

## Contribution

It introduces a method to tune interactions in artificial spin chains and compares experimental results with the ANNNI model, uncovering complex magnetic behaviors.

## Key findings

- Different magnetic phases can be stabilized by tuning interactions.
- Artificial spin chains exhibit a richer phase diagram than expected.
- Metastable spin configurations can be observed due to micromagnetic effects.

## Abstract

The low-energy magnetic configurations of artificial frustrated spin chains are investigated using magnetic force microscopy and micromagnetic simulations. Contrary to most studies on two-dimensional artificial spin systems where frustration arises from the lattice geometry, here magnetic frustration originates from competing interactions between neighboring spins. By tuning continuously the strength and sign of these interactions, we show that different magnetic phases can be stabilized. Comparison between our experimental findings and predictions from the one-dimensional Anisotropic Next-Nearest-Neighbor Ising (ANNNI) model reveals that artificial frustrated spin chains have a richer phase diagram than initially expected. Besides the observation of several magnetic orders and the potential extension of this work to highly-degenerated artificial spin chains, our results suggest that the micromagnetic nature of the individual magnetic elements allows observation of metastable spin configurations.