Virtual experiments in computational magnetism with mag2exp

Abstract

We have designed and implemented the Python package mag2exp, which enables researchers to perform a range of virtual experiments given a spatially resolved vector field for the magnetization, a typical result from computational methods to simulate magnetism such as micromagnetics. This software allows experimental measurements such as magnetometry, microscopy, and reciprocal space based techniques to be simulated in order to obtain observables that are comparable to those of the corresponding experimental measurement. Such virtual experiments tend to be more economic to carry out than actual experiments. There are many uses for virtual experiments, including (i) choosing the best experimental techniques and assessing their feasibility prior to experimentation, (ii) fine tuning experimental setup, (iii) guiding the experiment by conducting concurrent simulations of the measurement, and (iv) interpreting the experimental data at a later point though both qualitative and quantitative methods.