We study vortex domain wall dynamics in wide permalloy strips driven by applied magnetic fields and spin-polarized electric currents. As recently reported [V. Estévez and L. Laurson, Phys. Rev. B 93, 064403 (2016)], for sufficiently wide strips and above a threshold field, periodic dynamics of the vortex core are localized in the vicinity of one of the strip edges, and the velocity drop typically observed for narrow strips is replaced by a high-velocity plateau. Here, we analyze this behavior in more detail by means of micromagnetic simulations. We show that the high-velocity plateau originates from a repeated double switching of the magnetic vortex core, underlying the periodic vortex core dynamics in the vicinity of the strip edge, i.e., the “attraction-repulsion” effect. We also discuss the corresponding dynamics driven by spin-polarized currents, as well as the effect of including quenched random structural disorder to the system.

• Received 19 January 2017
• Revised 28 July 2017

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.96.064420