dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaMagnetization reversal mechanism of double-helix nanowires probed by dark-field magneto-optical Kerr effect
| Authors | Takeaki Gokita, Jakub Jurczyk, Naëmi Leo, Sabri Koraltan, Alberto Anadón, Miguel Ángel Cascales-Sandoval, Rachid Belkhou, Claas Abert, Dieter Suess, Claire Donnelly, Amalio Fernández-Pacheco |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | 2601.08613vv1 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.08613 |
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
Abstract
Double-helix (DH) nanowires provide a platform to study the influence of geometric chirality on spin chirality. Their three-dimensional (3D) helical architecture and tunable inter-strand coupling enable control of spin chirality, including the stabilization of topological 3D magnetic states such as helical domains and domain walls, topological stray fields, and extended helical vortex/skyrmion tubes. So far, the study of these and other 3D nanostructures is usually confined to a limited number of magnetic microscopy experiments in large facilities. Here, we investigate the reversal mechanism of a single DH nanowire using Dark-Field magneto-optical Kerr effect (DF-MOKE) magnetometry under external 3D magnetic fields. By analyzing the angular dependence of the DF-MOKE signal, we fit the reversal process using established models for domain-wall nucleation and propagation, finding a characteristic behavior similar to that reported for cylindrical nanowires. Micromagnetic simulations indicate that the reversal process goes through nucleation of the helical vortex tube in a curling manner while ptychographic X-ray magnetic circular dichroism data reveal that this helical vortex tube state forms through a mixed nucleation-propagation process. These observations provide a consistent microscopic picture of reversal mediated by a helical vortex tube extending along the nanowire. Our work provides a comprehensive characterization of magnetization reversal in DH nanowires and demonstrates that DF-MOKE magnetometry is effective for probing reversal mechanisms in single 3D nanostructures. This lab-based approach expands the range of accessible experiments beyond large-scale facilities, enabling extensive exploration of the rich spin states supported by 3D nano-geometries.
{
"annotation_id": "bcc60552-3255-452f-be13-ea2999bcea8d",
"date_created": "2026-02-17T05:53:15.903000Z",
"date_modified": "2026-02-17T05:53:15.903000Z",
"file_hash": "08278b6df8521bc6d5a15b2864081db54752e60fdec25d81ea945002ec527783",
"private": false,
"record": {
"abstract": "Double-helix (DH) nanowires provide a platform to study the influence of geometric chirality on spin chirality. Their three-dimensional (3D) helical architecture and tunable inter-strand coupling enable control of spin chirality, including the stabilization of topological 3D magnetic states such as helical domains and domain walls, topological stray fields, and extended helical vortex/skyrmion tubes. So far, the study of these and other 3D nanostructures is usually confined to a limited number of magnetic microscopy experiments in large facilities. Here, we investigate the reversal mechanism of a single DH nanowire using Dark-Field magneto-optical Kerr effect (DF-MOKE) magnetometry under external 3D magnetic fields. By analyzing the angular dependence of the DF-MOKE signal, we fit the reversal process using established models for domain-wall nucleation and propagation, finding a characteristic behavior similar to that reported for cylindrical nanowires. Micromagnetic simulations indicate that the reversal process goes through nucleation of the helical vortex tube in a curling manner while ptychographic X-ray magnetic circular dichroism data reveal that this helical vortex tube state forms through a mixed nucleation-propagation process. These observations provide a consistent microscopic picture of reversal mediated by a helical vortex tube extending along the nanowire. Our work provides a comprehensive characterization of magnetization reversal in DH nanowires and demonstrates that DF-MOKE magnetometry is effective for probing reversal mechanisms in single 3D nanostructures. This lab-based approach expands the range of accessible experiments beyond large-scale facilities, enabling extensive exploration of the rich spin states supported by 3D nano-geometries.",
"arxiv_id": "2601.08613",
"authors": [
"Takeaki Gokita",
"Jakub Jurczyk",
"Na\u00ebmi Leo",
"Sabri Koraltan",
"Alberto Anad\u00f3n",
"Miguel \u00c1ngel Cascales-Sandoval",
"Rachid Belkhou",
"Claas Abert",
"Dieter Suess",
"Claire Donnelly",
"Amalio Fern\u00e1ndez-Pacheco"
],
"categories": [
"cond-mat.mes-hall"
],
"license": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
"title": "Magnetization reversal mechanism of double-helix nanowires probed by dark-field magneto-optical Kerr effect",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.08613",
"version": "v1"
},
"schema_id": "dorsal/arxiv",
"source": {
"execution_id": "4c6d9b99-41fb-4256-a7b1-dd47b70ced27",
"id": "arXiv Dataset",
"type": "Model",
"variant": "snapshot-2026-01-17",
"version": "0.1.0"
},
"user_id": 1000002
}