Temperature dependence of the magnetization of canted spin structures

Numerous studies of the low-temperature saturation magnetization of ferrimagnetic nanoparticles and diamagnetically substituted ferrites have shown an anomalous temperature dependence. It has been suggested that this is related to freezing of canted magnetic structures. We present models for the temperature dependence of the magnetization of a simple canted spin structure in which relaxation can take place at finite temperatures between spin configurations with different canting angles. We show that the saturation magnetization may either decrease or increase with decreasing temperature, depending on the ratio of the exchange coupling constants. This is in agreement with experimental observations. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.