Dynamics of a Ferromagnetic Domain Wall and the Barkhausen Effect

We derive an equation of motion for the dynamics of a ferromagnetic domain wall driven by an external magnetic field through a disordered medium, and we study the associated depinning transition. The long-range dipolar interactions set the upper critical dimension to be $d_c=3\mathrm{}$, so we suggest that mean-field exponents describe the Barkhausen effect for three-dimensional soft ferromagnetic materials. We analyze the scaling of the Barkhausen jumps as a function of the field driving rate and the intensity of the demagnetizing field, and find results in quantitative agreement with experiments on crystalline and amorphous soft ferromagnetic alloys.