Numerical investigation of the magneto-dynamics of self-organizing nanoparticle ensembles: A hybrid molecular and spin dynamics approach

Ensembles of magnetic nanoparticles which are dispersed in a conductive gel matrix, show promising magnetoresistive characteristics. By structuring the nanoparticles in the liquid gel by applying external magnetic fields, the magnetoresistance of such an arrangement can be adjusted. Furthermore, if the gel exhibits a liquid-solid transition the system structure and magnetoresistance characteristics can be preserved without the need of an external magnetic field. In order to predict the magnetoresistive properties of combinations of different magnetic nanoparticles and conductive gels, one has to simulate the magneto-dynamics of magnetic nanoparticles immersed in a gel. However, this requires to perform molecular dynamics and spin dynamics simulations simultaneously. Here, we present a hybrid approach, which combines two highly developed and well-established software packages into a new software tool that allows us to study this new class of problems.