Comparison of dynamical and equilibrium surface spin reorientations: Inferences on the nature of the phase transitions in the presence of dipole interactions

The influence of long-range dipole interactions on two-dimensional magnetism has been studied extensively in the spin-reorientation transition of ferromagnetic ultrathin films. Although there is a great deal of experimental information on the perpendicular domain phase that is stabilized by dipole interactions, the transitions to or from the domain phase are subtle and difficult to characterize experimentally. Magnetic susceptibility …