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.

In the magnetic recording and reproducing device, a distal end width of the first magnetic pole in the recording element is substantially the same as a distal end width of the second magnetic pole; the reproducing element width of the reproducing element is equal to or less than 0.8 μm; and in the magnetic recording medium, a number distribution A of equivalent circle diameters of a plurality of bright areas in a binarized image of a secondary electron image obtained by imaging a surface of the magnetic layer with a scanning electron microscope at an acceleration voltage of 5 kV, and a number distribution B of equivalent circle diameters of a plurality of dark areas in a binarized image of a secondary electron image obtained by imaging the surface of the magnetic layer with a scanning electron microscope at an acceleration voltage of 2 kV satisfy predetermined number distribution, respectively.

The magnetic recording medium has a magnetic layer containing multiple nonmagnetic particles having a ratio, major axis length/minor axis length, of less than or equal to 1.5, the multiple nonmagnetic particles are present in the magnetic layer in a state where, when the depth to which each of the multiple nonmagnetic particles is embedded in the magnetic layer in observation of a sectional image picked up by SEM is denoted as b and the thickness of the magnetic layer as t, the average value of the ratio of b/t is less than or equal to 0.9, and the number of protrusions 5 nm or greater in height is 800 or greater and the number of protrusions 20 nm or greater in height is 20 or less as measured by AFM per an area 40 μm×40 μm on the magnetic layer side surface of the magnetic recording medium.

The magnetic tape in which a difference (S.sub.0.1−S.sub.1.6) between a spacing S.sub.0.1 and a spacing S.sub.1.6 obtained after n-hexane cleaning on a surface of the magnetic layer is equal to or less than 32 nm. The S.sub.0.1 is a value obtained as a spacing under a pressing force of 0.1 atm from a relational expression between a pressure and a spacing obtained by performing a spacing measurement on the surface of the magnetic layer by an optical interference method under a pressing force of each of a plurality of different pressures after the n-hexane cleaning, and S.sub.1.6 is a spacing measured on the surface of the magnetic layer by the optical interference method under the pressing force of 1.6 atm after the n-hexane cleaning.

Provided are a magnetic tape comprising a magnetic layer containing a ferromagnetic powder and a binding agent on a non-magnetic support, in which the magnetic layer contains an oxide abrasive, an average particle diameter of the oxide abrasive obtained from a secondary ion image acquired by irradiating a surface of the magnetic layer with a focused ion beam is greater than 0.08 μm and 0.14 μm or smaller, and an absolute value ΔN of a difference between a refractive index Nxy measured with respect to an in-plane direction of the magnetic layer and a refractive index Nz measured with respect to a thickness direction of the magnetic layer is 0.25 to 0.40, and a magnetic recording and reproducing device including the magnetic tape.

The magnetic tape includes a non-magnetic support; a non-magnetic layer including a non-magnetic powder and a binding agent on the non-magnetic support; and a magnetic layer including a ferromagnetic powder and a binding agent on the non-magnetic layer, in which a total thickness of the non-magnetic layer and the magnetic layer is equal to or smaller than 0.60 μm, an isoelectric point of a surface zeta potential of the magnetic layer is equal to or greater than 5.5, the magnetic layer includes an oxide abrasive, and an average particle diameter of the oxide abrasive obtained from a secondary ion image obtained by irradiating the surface of the magnetic layer with a focused ion beam is 0.04 μm to 0.08 μm.

A magnetic tape in which a tape thickness of the magnetic tape is 5.2 μm or less, and in an environment with a temperature of 23° C. and a relative humidity of 50%, an AlFeSil abrasion value.sub.45° of a surface of the magnetic layer measured at a tilt angle of 45° of an AlFeSil prism is 20 μm to 50 μm, a standard deviation of an AlFeSil abrasion value of the surface of the magnetic layer measured at each of tilt angles of 0°, 15°, 30°, and 45° of the AlFeSil prism is 30 μm or less, and the tilt angle of the AlFeSil prism is an angle formed by a longitudinal direction of the AlFeSil prism and a width direction of the magnetic tape.

A magnetic tape in which a C—H derived C concentration calculated from a C—H peak surface area ratio in C1s spectra obtained by XPS performed on a surface of the magnetic layer at a photoelectron take-off angle of 10 degrees is 45 atom % to 65 atom %, and in an environment with a temperature of 23° C. and a relative humidity of 50%, an AlFeSil abrasion value.sub.45° of the surface of the magnetic layer measured at a tilt angle of 45° of an AlFeSil prism is 20 μm to 50 μm, a standard deviation of an AlFeSil abrasion value of the surface of the magnetic layer measured at each of given tilt angles of the AlFeSil prism is 30 μm or less, and the tilt angle of the AlFeSil prism is an angle formed by a longitudinal direction of the AlFeSil prism and a width direction of the magnetic tape.

A magnetic tape in which an edge weave amount of a tape edge on at least one side of the magnetic tape is 1.5 μm or less, and in an environment with a temperature of 23° C. and a relative humidity of 50%, an AlFeSil abrasion value.sub.45° of a surface of the magnetic layer measured at a tilt angle of 45° of an AlFeSil prism is 20 μm to 50 μm, a standard deviation of an AlFeSil abrasion value of the surface of the magnetic layer measured at each of tilt angles of 0°, 15°, 30°, and 45° of the AlFeSil prism is 30 μm or less, and the tilt angle of the AlFeSil prism is an angle formed by a longitudinal direction of the AlFeSil prism and a width direction of the magnetic tape.

The magnetic recording medium includes a non-magnetic support; and a magnetic layer containing a ferromagnetic powder, in which the magnetic layer includes an abrasive, the abrasive is a carbide, an average primary particle diameter of the abrasive is 10 nm or more and 100 nm or less, and in an electron microscope image of a surface of the magnetic layer, assuming that a total area occupied by the abrasive is 100%, a ratio of an area occupied by the abrasive present in an aggregated state having a maximum Feret diameter of 0.2 .Math.m or more is 50% or more.