Effect of Stress on the Magnetic Memory of Induced Magnetic Anisotropy of Rocks and Its Mathematical Model

When re-heated to temperatures below the Curie temperature and subsequently cooled in a constant magnetic field (H_T), rock samples which contain magnetic minerals can acquire an induced magnetic anisotropy (IMA). As the result of acquiring the IMA, a constriction develops in the hysteresis loop of the magnetization of these rocks at the values of the magnetizing field close or equal to the HT. Thus the IMA is capable of retaining the information on the palaeointensity of the geomagnetic field, i.e., if IMA was created in a rock in the geomagnetic field in a past geological epoch, it preserves the information on the intensity of that field. Investigations have shown, that when IMA is created in a rock under external stress, the stress has an impact on the magnetic memory. Here we also deal with the issue of how stress affects the magnetic memory of IMA. A mathematical model for the effect of stress on magnetic memory phenomena related to induced magnetic anisotropy in rocks containing multidomain magnetite and titanomagnetite grains is proposed herewith. The effect of temperature on the magnetic memory of rocks is discussed also.