Zigzag transition profiles, noise, and correlation statistics in highly oriented longitudinal film media

Lorentz microscopy images of recorded bit patterns on a metal film disk are used to demonstrate that even though the magnetization transitions are zigzag domain walls, the effective transition profile for a sufficiently wide track resembles an error function, rather than an arctangent. However, the Williams-Comstock arctangent model accurately predicts the slope of the transition. Digitized Lorentz-image zigzags, as well as the Lorentz images themselves, can be used to characterize the nature of the zigzags and the noise behavior associated with them. A proposed noise model based on the micromagnetics of film domains is included here.