Switching of the vortex polarity in a magnetic nanodisk by a DC current

We study the dynamics of a vortex state nanodisk due to a dc spin current, perpendicular to the disk plane. The irreversible switching of the vortex polarity takes place above some threshold current. The detailed description of these processes is obtained by spin-lattice simulations.Comment: REVTeX, 4 pages, 3 figure

Off-centered immobile magnetic vortex under influence of spin-transfer torque

Equilibrium magnetization distribution of the vortex state magnetic nanoparticle is affected by the influence of the spin-transfer torque: an off-center out--of--plane vortex appears in the case of the disk shape particle and pure planar vortex in the case of asymmetric ring shape particle. The spin current causes extra out-of-plane magnetization structures identical to well known dip structures for the moving vortex. The shape of the dip structure depends on the current strength and value of the off-center displacement and it does not depend on the vortex polarity. The critical current depends on the nanodot thickness

Controllable switching of vortex chirality in magnetic nanodisks by a field pulse

We propose a way of fast switching the chirality in a magnetic nanodisk by applying a field pulse. To break the symmetry with respect to clockwise or counterclockwise chirality a mask is added by which an inhomogeneous field influences the vortex state of a nanodisk. Using numerical spin--lattice simulations we demonstrate that chirality can be controllably switched by a field pulse, whose intensity is above some critical value. A mathematical definition for the chirality of an arbitrary shaped particle is proposed.Comment: REVTeX, 4 pages, 3 figure