Ground state of finite arrays of magnetic dots in the presence of an external magnetic field

The ground state of an array of magnetic particles (magnetic dots), which are ordered in a square 2D lattice and whose magnetic moment is perpendicular to the lattice plane, in the presence of an external magnetic field has been analyzed. Such a model is applicable for sufficiently small dots with perpendicular anisotropy that are in a single-domain state and for dots in a strongly inhomogeneous vortex state whose magnetic moment is determined by the vortex core. For the magnetic field perpendicular to the system plane, the entire set of the states has been analyzed from the chessboard antiferromagnetic order of magnetic moments in low fields to the saturated state of the system with the parallel orientations of the magnetic moments of all dots in strong fields. In the presence of the border, the destruction of the chessboard order first occurs at the edges of the system, then near the extended sections of the surface, and finally expands over the entire interior of the array. The critical field at which this simplest state is destroyed is much more weakly than the value characteristic of the ideal infinite system. In contrast to this scenario, the destruction of the saturated state with decreasing field always begins far from the borders. Despite such different behaviors, the magnetic structure in the intermediate range of fields that is obtained with both increasing and decreasing field for finite arrays strongly differs from that characteristic of the ideal infinite system. The role of simple stacking faults of the magnetic dot lattice (such as single vacancies or their clusters) in the remagnetization of the system has been analyzed. The presence of such faults is shown to give rise to the appearance of local destructions of the chessboard antiferromagnetic order at fields that are much weaker than those for an ideal lattice.     

Noncollinear ferromagnetism in (III,Mn)V semiconductors

We investigate the stability of the collinear ferromagnetic state in kinetic exchange models for (III,Mn)V semiconductors with randomly distributed Mn ions. Our results suggest that noncollinear ferromagnetism is common to these semiconductor systems. The instability of the collinear state is due to long-range fluctuations involving a large fraction of the localized magnetic moments. We address conditions that favor the occurrence of noncollinear ground states and discuss unusual behavior that we predict for the temperature and field dependence of its saturation magnetization.     

Phase diagram of a geometrically frustrated triangular-lattice antiferromagnet in a magnetic field

The magnetic phase diagram of a geometrically frustrated triangular-lattice antiferromagnet is evaluated as a function of magnetic field and anisotropy using a trial spin state built from harmonics of a fundamental ordering wave vector. A noncollinear incommensurate state, observed to be chiral and ferroelectric in CuFeO2, appears above a collinear state with 4 sublattices (SLs). The apparent absence of multiferroic behavior for predicted chiral, noncollinear 5-SL states poses a challenge to theories of the ferroelectric coupling in CuFeO2.     

Optical transitions in antiferromagnets in the saturated paramagnetism region

The behaviour of the spins of the photoexcited ions and its nearest antiferromagnetic neighbours in a two-sublattice antiferromagnet with isotropic Heisenberg interaction in the saturated paramagnetism region has been theoretically studied. It has been shown that the magnetic moments of the ions may be oriented in this region noncollinear to the magnetic field in the case whether the exchange integral in the excited state is larger than in the ground state or there is strong uniaxial single-ion “easy plane” anisotropy in the excited state. The exciton-magnon transitions intensity may, as a result, also alter in the saturated paramagnetism region.     

Noncollinear states in a chain of single-domain magnetic particles

The ground state of a chain of single-domain magnetic particles has been theoretically analyzed. The conditions under which this state corresponds to a noncollinear structure in zero external magnetic field are determined. Such noncollinear states are due to the features of the long-range magnetostatic interactions in the systems without the center of inversion.     

Magnetic and orbital ordering in the spinel MnV2O4

Neutron inelastic scattering and diffraction techniques have been used to study the MnV2O4 spinel system. Our measurements show the existence of two transitions to long-range ordered ferrimagnetic states, the first collinear and the second noncollinear. The lower temperature transition, characterized by development of antiferromagnetic components in the basal plane, is accompanied by a tetragonal distortion and the appearance of a gap in the magnetic excitation spectrum. The low-temperature noncollinear magnetic structure has been definitively resolved. Taken together, the crystal and magnetic structures indicate a staggered ordering of the V d orbitals. The anisotropy gap is a consequence of unquenched V orbital angular momentum.     

Equilibrium states and quasi-static magnetization switching of a multilayer structure

The equilibrium orientations of magnetic moments that correspond to various values and directions of the biasing field are found in a set of magnetic films with cubic crystalline anisotropy and uniaxial induced anisotropy. The films are coupled by exchange interaction of the antiferromagnetic type. Field intervals are established where noncollinear and bistability states causing orientational phase transitions and hysteresis exist. Ninety degree magnetization switching (per switching cycle) of the magnetic moments of the films, as well as an orientational phase transition of bifurcation character, is discovered. Hysteresis loops for 180° in-plane magnetization switching are constructed.     

Noncollinear magnetic hyperfine fields in the Ag spacers of Fe/Ag multilayers

Nearly perpendicular magnetic hyperfine fields have been observed for the first time in the Ag "spacers" of Fe/Ag multilayers using low temperature nuclear orientation of (110)Ag(m) at 6 mK. At the same time, vibrating sample magnetometry measurements at temperatures down to 4 K have shown the magnetic anisotropy of the Fe to be in plane. The direction of the Ag hyperfine field is thus noncollinear (nearly orthogonal) to the Fe anisotropy. These results are compared with full potential linearized augmented plane wave calculations using the wien97 code.     

Spin waves and quantum criticality in the frustrated XY pyrochlore antiferromagnet Er2Ti2O7

We report detailed measurements of the low temperature magnetic phase diagram of Er2Ti2O7. Heat capacity and time-of-flight neutron scattering studies of single crystals reveal unconventional low-energy states. Er3+ magnetic ions reside on a pyrochlore lattice in Er2Ti2O7, where local XY anisotropy and antiferromagnetic interactions give rise to a unique frustrated system. In zero field, the ground state exhibits coexisting short and long-range order, accompanied by soft collective spin excitations previously believed to be absent. The application of finite magnetic fields tunes the ground state continuously through a landscape of noncollinear phases, divided by a zero temperature phase transition at micro{0}H{c} approximately 1.5 T. The characteristic energy scale for spin fluctuations is seen to vanish at the critical point, as expected for a second order quantum phase transition driven by quantum fluctuations.     

Tunneling magnetoresistance in small dot arrays with perpendicular anisotropy

The tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) of a small magnetic dot array with perpendicular anisotropy, is studied by using a resistor network model. Because of the competition between dipolar interaction and perpendicular anisotropy, the TMR ratio can be up to a maximum value (~26%) as predicted by a theoretical model. At moderate dipolar interaction strength, the perpendicular TMR ratio exhibits abrupt jumps due to the switching of magnetic moments in the array when the applied field (normal to the array plane) decreases from a saturation field. This novel character does not occur if the dipolar interaction between particles is quite strong. Furthermore, the effect of the array size N on TMR is also studied and the result shows that TMR ratio fluctuates when N increases for a moderate dipolar interaction strength. When the applied field h_e is parallel to the array plane, the in-plane TMR curve seems insensitive to the dipolar interaction strength, but the maximum TMR ratio (~26%) can also be obtained at h_e=0.     

Magnetoresistance and noncollinear structures of multilayer ferromagnetic nanoparticles

The distribution of the magnetization over multilayer particles, including three ferromagnetic layers separated by insulating spacers, is studied experimentally and theoretically. Experimental data on the magnetic state of these particles are obtained by measuring their magnetoresistance. For the case of zero applied field, it is shown that a multilayer particle with easy-plane magnetic anisotropy is a noncollinear helical state.     

Magnetism of nanowires driven by novel even-odd effects

The parity of the number of atoms in finite antiferromagnetic nanowires deposited on ferromagnets is shown to be a crucial quantity determining their magnetic ground state. Relating results of the full-potential Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker method for noncollinear magnetism from first principles to a Heisenberg model, we show that the magnetic structure changes dramatically across the entire nanowire if one single atom is added to it. Infinite and finite even-numbered nanochains exhibit always noncollinear magnetism, while odd-numbered wires lead under given conditions to a collinear ferrimagnetic ground state. This extremely nonlocal effect occurs only for nanosized wires.     

The theory of a noncollinear ferromagnetism of the U3X4 compounds

In order to describe magnetic properties of U₃X₄ compounds a model is proposed, which contains, besides isotropic exchange, uniaxial exchange anisotropy and three-axial crystal field term. Semiclassical considerations lead to a noncollinear, three-axial, ground state configuration and stability conditions for such an ordering are found. The behaviour of the system with the external magnetic field of different orientations is discussed at zero-temperature. There is no saturation in any direction and asymptotic formulas for magnetization at the high fields and for the initial susceptibility tensor are given. An expression for the Curie temperature is obtained in the simplest molecular field approximation. The model seems to explain qualitatively the experimental data.     

A Geometric Interpretation of the Effective Uniaxial Anisotropy Field in Magnetic Films

It is shown that the effective uniaxial anisotropy field that is usually applied in thin magnetic films (TMFs), which is noncollinear to the magnetization vector, is insufficient for deeper understanding of these processes, although it explains many physical processes in films. The analysis of the magnetization discontinuity in films under certain conditions yields the component of the effective uniaxial anisotropy field collinear to the magnetization vector. This component explains the magnetization discontinuity and allows one to speak of the total effective uniaxial anisotropy field in TMFs.     

Critical magnetization and hysteresis of nanogranular films with perpendicular anisotropy

The magnetic-field dependences of the stability boundaries of the nonequilibrium magnetic states that exist in a nanogranular film with perpendicular anisotropy in tilted magnetic fields are theoretically described, and the corresponding critical magnetization is calculated. The field dependences of the critical magnetization of the film are analyzed at various ratios of the anisotropy field of particles to the maximum possible demagnetizing field of the film. In a tilted magnetic field, the magnetization reversal curves, which include hysteresis loops, are shown to consist of segments of the following three types: equilibrium stable magnetization, nonequilibrium stable magnetization, and critical type of magnetization.     

Analogue of a spin flop phase transition for an array of magnetic moments with dipole interaction

In a two-dimensional array of magnetic moments with planar magnetization and relatively weak anisotropy in the basal plane, a stepwise phase transition is induced by an external magnetic field parallel to the easy axis of the system. This transition is similar to the spin flop phase transition in weakly anisotropic Heisenberg antiferromagnets with the significant difference that it is accompanied by the rearrangement of the sublattice structure of the magnet; i.e., it can be interpreted as a topological transition. The transition should manifest itself for arrays of submicron magnetic particles (magnetic dots) on nonmagnetic substrates, which have recently become the object of intensive research.     

Single-Ion Weak Antiferromagnetism and Spin-Flop Transition in a Two-Sublattice Ferromagnet

Physics of the Solid State - The ground state of a Heisenberg ferromagnet with the noncollinear single-ion anisotropy axes of two magnetic sublattices has been investigated in an external magnetic...     

Onset of non-collinear magnetism in small Fe clusters

The onset of noncollinear magnetism in small Fe_N clusters is investigated by using a rotational invariant tight-binding Hamiltonian. The ground-state local magnetic moments, magnetic order and average magnetic moments are calculated as a function of the Coulomb exchange integral J. Representative results for Fe₃ and Fe₅ show that the noncollinear magnetic solutions are the most stable. A variety of qualitatively different self-consistent solutions is obtained as a function of J. This includes magnetic solutions with collinear and noncollinear spin arrangements. Our calculations are compared with previous density-functional results. Extensions and limitations of our work are also pointed out.     

FeVO_4电子结构的第一性原理研究

采用基于密度泛函理论的第一性原理方法研究了三斜结构FeVO_4的结构,基态的能带结构、总态密度和分波态密度.将FeVO_4非共线的螺旋磁结构简化为六种不同的反铁磁结构,通过比较不同自旋构型的总能确定了基态磁结构.能带计算和总态密度结果均显示FeVO_4是能隙为2.19 e V的半导体,与实验结果相符.考虑Fe原子的在位库仑能,FeVO_4的能带结构和态密度都发生变化,说明FeVO_4晶体是一个典型的强关联电子体系.