Nonlinear dynamic susceptibilities of interacting and noninteracting nanoparticle systems

The linear and cubic dynamic susceptibilities of solid dispersions of nano-sized maghemite particles have been measured for three samples with a volume concentration of magnetic particles ranging from 0.3 % to 17 %, in order to study the effect of dipole-dipole interactions. Significant differences between the dynamic response of the three samples are observed. The dynamic susceptibilities of the most dilute sample compare reasonably well with an existing theory for the linear and cubic dynamic susceptibilities of an assembly of noninteracting, uniaxial magnetic particles. The nonlinear dynamic response of the most concentrated sample exhibits at low temperatures some of the features observed in a Ag(11 at.% Mn) spin glass.