Magnetic properties of colloidal suspensions of interacting magnetic particles

Abstract

We review equilibrium thermodynamic properties of systems of magnetic particles like ferrofluids in which dipolar interactions play an important role. The review is focused on two phenomena: (i) magnetization with the initial magnetic susceptibility as a special case and (ii) the phase transition behaviour. Here, the condensation ('gas/liquid') transition in the subsystem of the suspended particles is treated as well as the isotropic/ferromagnetic transition to a state with spontaneously generated long-range magnetic order.