Dynamics of a domain wall in a magnetic nanostrip: a toy model

In this report we demonstrate a simple model for the motion of a vortex domain wall in a ferromagnetic strip of submicron width under the influence of an external magnetic field. The model exhibits three distinct dynamical regimes. In a viscous regime at low fields the wall moves rigidly with a velocity proportional to the field. Above a critical field the motion becomes underdamped as the vortex moves periodically across the strip; these oscillations are accompanied by a slow drift with a decreasing velocity. At still higher fields the drift velocity starts rising linearly with the field again but with a much lower mobility dv/dH than in the low-field regime. We calculate the relevant quantities and compare them to experimentally observed values.