Spin reversal in bilayer ultrathin magnetic films

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Abstract
We discuss the micromagnetics of two coupled layers of ultrathin films. The spins change from a closure domain arrangement to mostly aligned as the interlayer spacing is decreased. There are remanent domains at the edges which serve as nucleation centers and control the switching behavior in a field. The domain patterns are often changed after a hysteresis cycle, consistent with recent measurement of the giant magnetoresistance in multilayer structures. Different vorticity of the edge domains can lead to very different zero-field remanent domain structures.