https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/11/221129111913.htm

Traditionally, researchers have performed a visual analysis of the microscopic image data. However, this often makes the interpretation of such data qualitative and highly subjective. What is lacking is a causal analysis of the mechanisms underlying the complex interactions in nanoscale magnetic materials.

In a recent breakthrough published in Scientific Reports, a team of researchers led by Prof. Masato Kotsugi from Tokyo University of Science, Japan succeeded in automating the interpretation of the microscopic image data. This was achieved using an "extended Landau free energy model" that the team developed using a combination of topology, data science, and free energy. The model could illustrate the physical mechanism as well as the critical location of the magnetic effect, and proposed an optimal structure for a nano device. The model used physics-based features to draw energy landscapes in the information space, which could be applied to understand the complex interactions at the nanoscales in a wide variety of materials.