Publication Type
Journal
Journal Name
Physical Review B
Publication Date
Volume
96
Issue
1
Abstract
In order to model a spiral spin state in a thin film, we study a classical Heisenberg model with
open boundary conditions. With magnetic field applied in the plane of the film, the spin state
becomes ferromagnetic above a critical field that increases with thickness N. For a given N, the
spiral passes through states with n = n0 up to 0 complete periods in steps of 1. These numerical
results agree with earlier analytic results in the continuum limit and help explain the susceptibility
jumps observed in thin films.
