Magnetic Ground State of Single and Coupled Permalloy Rectangles

We have studied the magnetic domain structure in Permalloy rectangles that reveal flux-closure domain configurations. Arrays with varying spacing between the rectangles are investigated by scanning electron microscopy with polarization analysis as well as by micromagnetic simulation. In contrast to general expectation, rectangles in the flux-closure Landau state show significant coupling and form a magnetic pattern of common chirality. The coupling is due to the stray field that originates from small changes of the magnetization alignment, which is sensitive to the exact shape and the separation of the rectangles.