Magnetic nanoparticles in a nematic channel: A one-dimensional study.

Abstract

We study a dilute suspension of magnetic nanoparticles in a nematic-filled channel and how the spatial magnetization M can be tailored by the nematic anisotropy. We study the spatial configurations as stable critical points of a generalized phenomenological energy for a dilute ferronematic in the absence of external magnetic fields. We show how spatial inhomogeneities in the equilibrium nematic profile, induced by confinement and boundary effects, generate nonzero spatially inhomogeneous magnetization profiles in the system. Depending on the magnetonematic coupling energy, M can either follow the nematic profile for large coupling or exhibit distinct polydomain structures separated by defect lines for weak coupling and low temperatures. Some exact solutions for prototypical situations are also obtained.