Microstructure and magnetic properties of magnetic fluids consisting of shifted dipole particles under the influence of an external magnetic field

Abstract

We investigate the structure of a recently proposed magnetic fluid consisting of shifted dipolar (SD) particles in an externally applied magnetic field via computer simulations. For standard dipolar fluids the applied magnetic field usually enhances the dipole-dipole correlations and facilitates chain formation whereas in the present system the effect of an external field can result in a break-up of clusters. We thoroughly investigate the origin of this phenomenon through analyzing first the ground states of the SD-particle systems as a function of an applied field. In a second step we quantify the microstructure of these systems as functions of the shift parameter, the effective interaction parameter, and the applied magnetic field strength. We conclude the paper by showing that with the proper choice of parameters, it is possible to create a system of SD-particles with highly interacting magnetic particles, whose initial susceptibility is below the Langevin susceptibility, and which remains spatially isotropic even in a very strong external magnetic field. © 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.