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Atomistic calculation of the τ0 inverse attempt frequency in Fe3O4 magnetite nanoparticles

Roberto Moreno1,2,3,*, Sarah Jenkins3, Wyn Williams2, and Richard F. L. Evans3

  • 1CONICET, Instituto de Física Enrique Gaviola (IFEG), Córdoba, Argentina
  • 2School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
  • 3School of Physics, Engineering and Technology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, United Kingdom

  • *Contact author: rmoreno@ed.ac.uk
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Phys. Rev. B 112, 024429 – Published 18 July, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/vmwp-q427

Abstract

The Arrhenius law predicts transition times between equilibrium states in thermally activated systems, with broad interdisciplinary relevance. In paleomagnetism, it is used to estimate relaxation times and the thermal stability of magnetic nanoparticles. Magnetite, key to both paleomagnetic studies and magnetic hyperthermia, shows large uncertainties in its attempt frequency f0, varying over 107–1013Hz and affecting relaxation rate estimates. We present a dynamical method using atomistic spin dynamics to fully parametrize the Arrhenius-Néel law. For magnetite nanoparticles with cubic anisotropy, we find τ0=0.98±0.13ns at room temperature. For particles with enhanced anisotropy, τ0 decreases significantly and shows a different temperature dependence, highlighting the role of anisotropy. Our method applies to a broad range of systems with clearly defined states and enables robust estimates of domain stability, with particular relevance for the micromagnetic analysis of paleomagnetic records and improving our understanding of geomagnetic fidelity over geological time.

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Phys. Rev. B 112, 024429– Published 18 July, 2025
  • Received 19 January 2024
  • Accepted 30 June 2025
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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