Magnetic neutron scattering on nanocomposites: decrypting cross-section images using micromagnetic simulations

Abstract: We have used numerical micromagnetics for the calculation of the magnetic (small-angle) neutron scattering cross section of nanocomposites. The novel aspect of our approach consists in the possibility to study the applied-field dependence of the individual contributions to the total magnetic scattering. Such a micromagnetic tool ideally complements neutron experiments in which one generally measures only a weighted sum of the Fourier components of the magnetization. The procedure furnishes unique and fundamental information regarding the magnetic microstructure and corresponding magnetic scattering from nanomagnets. In particular, our simulation results explain the recent observation of dipolar correlations in two-phase nanocomposites and provide an answer to the question of the explicit dependence of the magnetization Fourier coefficients on the scattering vector.