The remanence and coercivity of an assembly of single-domain ferromagnetic particles are studied using the Monte Carlo simulation technique. The particles have random locations, possess random uniaxial anisotropy, and are coupled through dipolar interactions. The dependence of the magnetic properties on the packing density, the size of the particles, and the temperature are examined systematically. The role of the packing geometry (sc, fcc) and the sample boundaries are discussed. Dipolar interactions are shown to reduce the coercivity with respect to values for the noninteracting assembly in all cases except for strongly dipolar systems below the percolation threshold. An enhancement of the remanence is found in weakly dipolar systems and is attributed to the macroscopic Lorentz field. The fcc packing of the particles leads to more pronounced ferromagnetic behavior than the sc packing. The sample free boundaries and the corresponding demagnetizing field have a strong effect on the remanence of the assembly while they produce a minor reduction to the coercivity. The results from the simulations are compared with magnetic measurements on frozen ferrofluids and granular metal solids.

• Received 23 December 1997

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.58.12169