The ferromagnetic transition and domain structure in LiHoF4

Using Monte Carlo simulations we verify that the rare-earth compound LiHoF4 is a very good realization of a dipolar Ising model. With only one free parameter our calculations for the magnetization, specific heat and inverse susceptibility match experimental data at a quantitative level in the 0.5-3 kelvin range, including the ferromagnetic transition at 1.53 K. Using parallel tempering methods and reaching system sizes up to 32000 dipoles with periodic boundary conditions, we are able to give evidence of the logarithmic corrections predicted in renormalization group theory. Due to the long range and angular dependence of the dipolar model, sample shape and domains play a crucial role in the ordered state. We consider surface corrections to Griffiths's theorem, which arise infinite macroscopic samples and lead to a theory of magnetic domains. We find a domain wall energy of 0.059 erg/cm(2) and predict that the ground-state domain structure for cylinders with a demagnetization factor N > 0 consists of thin parallel sheets of opposite magnetization, with a width depending on the demagnetization factor.