We study the dynamics of a suspension of magnetic nanoparticles. Their relaxation times are strongly size-dependent. The dominant mode of relaxation is also governed by the size of the particles. As a result the dynamics is greatly altered due to polydispersity in the sample. We study the effect of polydispersity on the response functions. These exhibit significant changes as the parameters characterizing polydispersity are varied. We also provide a procedure to extract the particle size distribution in a polydisperse sample using Cole-Cole plots. Further the presence of attractive interactions causes aggregation of particles leading to the formation of clusters. Repulsive interactions along with thermal disorder not only hinder aggregation, but also introduce the possibility of removal of particles or "fragmentation" from clusters. The competing mechanisms of aggregation and fragmentation yield a distribution of cluster sizes in the steady-state. We attempt to understand the formation of clusters and their distributions using a model incorporating the phenomena of aggregation and fragmentation. Scaling forms for quantities of interest have been obtained. Finally we compare our numerical results with experimental data. These comparisons are satisfactory.

In this paper, we develop theoretical frameworks to explain the emergence of ferromagnetism in suspensions and agglomerates of superparamagnetic (SPM) nanoparticles. In the limit of strong anisotropy, the super moments can be treated as a collection of two-state Ising spins. When adequate in number, they interact via dipole-dipole coupling to produce a dipolar field and subsequently a permanent dipole moment. As a result, this effectual ferromagnet exhibits hysteresis on the application of an oscillating magnetic field yielding heat dissipation that is several orders of magnitude larger than in a paramagnet. Using our frameworks, we provide a design for a magnetiteblood suspension that yields heat dissipation in the mW range. Its important physical application is in remedial procedures for destroying tumor and cancer cells. We are also able to explain many experiments reporting manifestations of ferromagnetism in the form of hysteresis loops, return point memory and large heat dissipation in suspensions and aggregates of SPM nanoparticles. Our frameworks can be used to manipulate heat dissipation in variety of combinations of particles and their embedding mediums. They impart a basis to the often used ad-hoc methodologies in this subject. V

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We study hysteresis in a micron-sized bead: a non-magnetic matrix embedded with superparamagnetic nanoparticles. These hold tremendous promise in therapeutic applications as heat generating machines. The theoretical formulation uses a mean-field theory to account for dipolar interactions between the supermoments. The study enables manipulation of heat dissipation by a compatible selection of commercially available beads and the frequency f and amplitude h o of the applied oscillating field in the labortory. We also introduce the possibility of utilizing return point memory for gradual heating of a local region.