The present technology provides a tape-shaped magnetic recording medium including a magnetic layer, an underlayer, a base layer, and a back layer. The magnetic recording medium has an average thickness t.sub.T of 5.4 μm or less, when a thermomechanical analysis is performed on the magnetic recording medium in a temperature range of 40° C. to 150° C. at a temperature rise rate of 1° C./minute, a switching temperature for switching from thermal expansion to thermal contraction is 70° C. or more, and a contraction start temperature is 90° C. or more at which a length in a longitudinal direction is shorter than the length at 40° C., and a Poisson's ratio is 0.40 or less.

The magnetic tape includes a non-magnetic support; and a magnetic layer including ferromagnetic powder and a binding agent on the non-magnetic support, in which the magnetic layer includes one or more components selected from the group consisting of fatty acid and fatty acid amide, a C—H derived C concentration calculated from a C—H peak area ratio of C1s spectra obtained by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic analysis performed on a surface of the magnetic layer at a photoelectron take-off angle of 10 degrees is equal to or greater than 45 atom %, and an absolute value ΔN of a difference between a refractive index Nxy measured regarding an in-plane direction of the magnetic layer and a refractive index Nz measured regarding a thickness direction of the magnetic layer is 0.25 to 0.40.

Provided are: a magnetic recording medium including a non-magnetic support and a magnetic layer containing a ferromagnetic powder, in which the ferromagnetic powder is an ε-iron oxide powder, a vertical switching field distribution SFD of the magnetic recording medium is 0.20 or more and 3.00 or less at a measurement temperature of 25° C., and an inclination of SFD obtained from SFD at a measurement temperature of 10° C., SFD at a measurement temperature of 25° C., and SFD at a measurement temperature of 40° C. is 0.003° C..sup.-1 or more and 0.080° C..sup.-1 or less; a magnetic tape cartridge including the magnetic recording medium which is a magnetic tape; and a magnetic recording and reproducing device including the magnetic recording medium.

Provided are: a magnetic recording medium including a non-magnetic support and a magnetic layer containing a ferromagnetic powder, in which the ferromagnetic powder is an ε-iron oxide powder, H.sub.0.2 of the magnetic recording medium is 5,000 Oe or more and 40,000 Oe or less at a measurement temperature of 25° C., and an inclination of H.sub.0.2 obtained from H.sub.0.2 at a measurement temperature of 10° C., H.sub.0.2 at a measurement temperature of 25° C., and H.sub.0.2 at a measurement temperature of 40° C. is −100 Oe/° C. or more and −5 Oe/° C. or less; a magnetic tape cartridge including the magnetic recording medium which is a magnetic tape; and a magnetic recording and reproducing device including the magnetic recording medium.

A magnetic tape including a timing-based servo pattern, in which the magnetic tape is used in a magnetic tape device in which a total number of data tracks is 8705 or more in conversion of a magnetic tape having a width of ½ inches, and ΔPNL of the timing-based servo pattern is 10.0% or less of a track pitch. A magnetic tape cartridge including the magnetic tape, and a magnetic tape device including a magnetic tape, in which a total number of data tracks is 8705 or more in conversion of a magnetic tape having a width of ½ inches, the magnetic tape includes a timing-based servo pattern, and ΔPNL of the timing-based servo pattern is 10.0% or less of a track pitch are provided. The ΔPNL indicates an amount of deviation of the timing-based servo pattern from linearity.

Provided are a magnetic recording heading having a magnetic film including a write gap, in which in the write gap, a recording surface-side gap width is narrower than a back surface-side gap width, and the write gap has an opening portion formed by ion beam processing at a gap end portion on a recording surface side, a magnetic recording apparatus including the magnetic recording head, a manufacturing method of the magnetic recording head, and a manufacturing method of a magnetic recording medium having a servo pattern, including forming a servo pattern on the magnetic recording medium by the magnetic recording head.

A core-shell particle includes: a core including an iron oxyhydroxide compound represented by Formula A.sup.3.sub.a3Fe.sub.1−a3OOH (in which A.sup.3 represents at least one metal element other than Fe, and a3 satisfies 0<a3<1) or at least one iron oxide compound selected from the group consisting of Fe.sub.2O.sub.3, a compound represented by Formula A.sup.1.sub.a1Fe.sub.2−a1O.sub.3 (in which A.sup.1 represents at least one metal element other than Fe, and a1 satisfies 0<a1<2), Fe.sub.3O.sub.4, and a compound represented by Formula A.sup.2.sub.a2Fe.sub.3−a2O.sub.4 (in which A.sup.2 represents at least one metal element other than Fe, and a2 satisfies 0<a2<2); and a shell which covers the core and includes a polycondensate of a metal alkoxide.

A core-shell particle includes: a core including an iron oxyhydroxide compound represented by Formula A.sup.3.sub.a3Fe.sub.1−a3OOH (in which A.sup.3 represents at least one metal element other than Fe, and a3 satisfies 0<a3<1) or at least one iron oxide compound selected from the group consisting of Fe.sub.2O.sub.3, a compound represented by Formula A.sup.1.sub.a1Fe.sub.2−a1O.sub.3 (in which A.sup.1 represents at least one metal element other than Fe, and a1 satisfies 0<a1<2), Fe.sub.3O.sub.4, and a compound represented by Formula A.sup.2.sub.a2Fe.sub.3−a2O.sub.4 (in which A.sup.2 represents at least one metal element other than Fe, and a2 satisfies 0<a2<2); and a shell which covers the core and includes a polycondensate of a metal alkoxide.

A hexagonal strontium ferrite powder, in which an average particle size is 10.0 to 25.0 nm, a content of one or more kinds of atom selected from the group consisting of a gallium atom, a scandium atom, an indium atom, and an antimony atom is 1.0 to 15.0 atom % with respect to 100.0 atom % of an iron atom, and a coercivity Hc is greater than 2,000 Oe and smaller than 4.000 Oe. A magnetic recording medium including: a non-magnetic support; and a magnetic layer including a ferromagnetic powder and a binding agent on the non-magnetic support, in which the ferromagnetic powder is the hexagonal strontium ferrite powder. A magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus including this magnetic recording medium.

A magnetic recording medium is a tape-shaped magnetic recording medium that has a recording layer including an ε-iron oxide particle. An area ratio R.sub.low (=(S.sub.low/S.sub.total)×100) of a total area S.sub.total of an SFD curve of the recording layer in a perpendicular direction and an area S.sub.low of the SFD curve in which a coercivity Hc is in a range from −500 [Oe]≤Hc≤500 [Oe] is equal to or less than 5.5%.