Micromagnetics of cubic particles with easy axes along the body diagonals

Numerical calculations of equilibrium micromagnetic configurations in small ferromagnetic cubes are reported. Negative cubic anisotropy (K ₁, K₂ as for nickel) leads to opposition between magnetocrystalline and configurational anisotropies. For particles ⩽540 Å the remanent state has a “flower” configuration about [111]. From 540 Å to at least 900 Å, it normally consists of a “vortex” about [100] though stable [111] vortex states also exist from 600 Å to 72O Å. M-H loops along [100] and [111] show switching between these configurations