Finite-temperature micromagnetics simulations are employed to study the
magnetization-switching dynamics driven by a field applied at an angle to the
long axis of an iron nanopillar. A bi-modal distribution in the switching times
is observed, and evidence for two competing modes of magnetization-switching
dynamics is presented. For the conditions studied here, temperature T=20 K
and the reversal field 3160 Oe at an angle of 75∘ to the long axis,
approximately 70% of the switches involve unstable decay (no free-energy
barrier) and 30% involve metastable decay (a free-energy barrier is crossed).
The latter are indistinguishable from switches which are constrained to start
at a metastable free-energy minimum. Competition between unstable and
metastable decay could greatly complicate applications involving magnetization
switches near the coercive field.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figure