Thomas Moore

I am an Associate Professor in Condensed Matter Physics at the University of Leeds where I lecture in Condensed Matter Physics, Magnetism and Ferroic Materials.  I am an experimental condensed matter physicist and my research is in thin film magnetism, spintronics and multiferroics.  I pioneered current-driven magnetic domain wall motion in multilayer films with perpendicular anisotropy.  Specific interests include magnetic domain walls, the interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction, skyrmions, spin-orbit torques, strain effects on thin magnetic films, and surface acoustic wave devices.

Introduction to Magnetic Materials

The aim here is to provide a summary of magnetism in condensed matter and hopefully set the scene for the talks that follow.  Following a short history of magnetism and definition of terms, we will introduce the two classic signatures of ferromagnetism – the hysteresis loop and the dependence of the magnetization on temperature – and pose the question, how do we understand these two behaviours?  We introduce the Stoner criterion for ferromagnets, and then a mean field model to explain the temperature dependence of the magnetization.  We will describe the Stoner-Wohlfarth model as a simple way of understanding the hysteresis loop.  Then we will discuss magnetic domains, data storage, and permanent magnets as examples of ferromagnetism in action.  Finally, we briefly introduce antiferromagnetism and other forms of magnetic order.