Deformation stability of a flat domain wall in magnetic films

The forces determining the orientation of domain walls in films of magnetoo ptic materials with a figure of merit of order unity are studied. The behav ior of small perturbations of the position of a flat domain wall in the pre sence of an in-plane component of the anisotropy vector is analyzed. The fo rces arising when the orientation of the domain wall deviates from the easy -magnetization axis and striving to return the wall to its initial state ar e conventionally represented as a gradient "effective magnetic field." The forces exerted by the "effective field," due to the in-plane component of t he anisotropy vector, on the perturbed domain wall are calculated. The orie ntational stability conditions for a planar domain wall are found. An expla nation is given for the experimentally observed predominant orientation of striped domains. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S1063-7850(99)009 09-X].