The long-range dipole-dipole interaction in an array of ferromagnetic micro
wires is studied through magnetic hysteresis measurements and Monte Carlo s
imulation. The experimental study has been performed on glass-coated amorph
ous Fe77.5Si7.5B15 microwire with diameter of 5 mu m and lengths from 5 to
60 mm. Hysteresis loops performed at room temperature for an array of N mic
rowires (N = 2, 3, 3, and 5) exhibit jumps and plateaux on the demagnetizat
ion, each step correspondent to the magnetization reversal of an individual
wire. A model has been constructed taking into account the fact that the m
agnetization reversal is nucleated at the ends of each wire, under the infl
uence of a dipolar field due to all other wires. Measurements for two wires
allowed us to conclude that the dipolar field (or constant coupling) is in
dependent of distance, at least for an array of a few wires. With the excep
tion of three wires, where frustration seems to be present, the predicted r
eversal fields of our model are in good agreement with measurements. Ln ord
er to study the role played by the number of wires on the demagnetization p
rocess, we calculate hysteresis loops for a large number of wires through t
he Monte Carlo method.