Memory in nanomagnetic systems: superparamagnetism versus spin-glass behavior

Abstract

The slow dynamics and concomitant memory (aging) effects seen in nanomagnetic systems are analyzed on the basis of two separate paradigms: superparamagnets and spin glasses. It is argued that in a large class of aging phenomena it suffices to invoke superparamagnetic relaxation of individual single domain particles but with a distribution of their sizes. Cases in which interactions and randomness are important in view of distinctive experimental signatures are also discussed.