V. Yu. Irkhin

Half-metallic ferromagnets: From band structure to many-body effects

A review of new developments in theoretical and experimental electronic-structure investigations of half-metallic ferromagnets (HMFs) is presented. Being semiconductors for one spin projection and metals for another, these substances are promising magnetic materials for applications in spintronics (i.e., spin-dependent electronics). Classification of HMFs by the peculiarities of their electronic structure and chemical bonding is discussed. The effects of electron-magnon interaction in HMFs and their manifestations in magnetic, spectral, thermodynamic, and transport properties are considered. Special attention is paid to the appearance of nonquasiparticle states in the energy gap, which provide an instructive example of essentially many-body features in the electronic structure. State-of-the-art electronic calculations for correlated d-systems are discussed, and results for specific HMFs (Heusler alloys, zinc-blende structure compounds, CrO2, and Fe3O4) are reviewed.

Self-consistent spin-wave theory of layered Heisenberg magnets

The versions of the self-consistent spin-wave theories (SSWT) of two-dimensional (2D) Heisenberg ferro- and antiferromagnets with a weak interlayer coupling and/or magnetic anisotropy, that are based on the non-linear Dyson-Maleev, Schwinger, and combined boson-pseudofermion representations, are analyzed. Analytical results for the temperature dependences of (sublattice) magnetization and short-range order parameter, and the critical points are obtained. The influence of external magnetic field is considered. Fluctuation corrections to SSWT are calculated within a random-phase approximation which takes into account correctly leading and next-leading logarithmic singularities. These corrections are demonstrated to improve radically the agreement with experimental data on layered perovskites and other systems. Thus an account of these fluctuations provides a quantitative theory of layered magnets.

Incommensurate magnetic order and phase separation in the two-dimensional Hubbard model with nearest- and next-nearest-neighbor hopping

We consider the ground-state magnetic phase diagram of the two-dimensional Hubbard model with nearest- and next-nearest-neighbor hopping in terms of electronic density and interaction strength. We treat commensurate ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic as well as incommensurate (spiral) magnetic phases. The first-order magnetic transitions with changing chemical potential, resulting in a phase separation (PS) in terms of density, are found between ferromagnetic, antiferromagnetic, and spiral magnetic phases. We argue that PS has a dramatic influence on the phase diagram in the vicinity of half-filling. The results imply possible interpretation of the unusual behavior of magnetic properties of single-layer cuprates in terms of PS between collinear and spiral magnetic phases. The relevance of our results to the magnetic properties of the ruthenates is also discussed.

SCALING PICTURE OF MAGNETISM FORMATION IN THE ANOMALOUS F-ELECTRON SYSTEMS: INTERPLAY OF THE KONDO EFFECT AND SPIN DYNAMICS

Formation of magnetically ordered state in the Kondo lattices is treated within the degenerate

Temperature dependences of resistivity and magnetoresistivity for half-metallic ferromagnets

s-f

Kondo effect, spin dynamics and magnetism in anomalous rare earth and actinide compounds. II, The problem of the ground state

exchange and Coqblin-Schrieffer models. The Kondo renormalizations of the effective coupling parameter, magnetic moment and spin excitation frequencies are calculated within perturbation theory. The results of one-loop scaling consideration of the magnetic state in Kondo lattices are analyzed. The dependence of the critical values of the bare model parameters on the type of the magnetic phase and space dimensionality is investigated. Renormalization of the effective Kondo temperature by the interatomic exchange interactions is calculated. An important role of the character of spin dynamics (existence of well-defined magnon excitations, presence of magnetic anisotropy etc.) is demonstrated. The regime of strongly suppressed magnetic moments, which corresponds to magnetic heavy-fermion system, may occur in a rather narrow parameter region only. At the same time, in the magnetically ordered phases the renormalized Kondo temperature depends weakly on the bare coupling parameter in some interval. The critical behavior, corresponding to the magnetic transition with changing the bare

Kondo effect, spin dynamics and magnetism in anomalous rare earth and actinide compounds

s-f

ON THE THEORY OF THE MOTT TRANSITION IN THE PARAMAGNETIC PHASE

coupling parameter, is investigated. In the vicinity of the strong coupling regime, the spectrum of the Bose excitations becomes softened. Thus on the borderline of magnetic instability the Fermi-liquid picture is violated in some temerature interval due to scattering of electrons by these bosons. This may explain the fact that a non-Fermi-liquid behavior often takes place in the heavy-fermion systems near the onset of magnetic ordering.

Spin waves in narrow band ferromagnet

Abstract:Peculiarities of transport properties of three- and two-dimensional half-metallic ferromagnets are investigated, which are connected with the absence of spin-flip scattering processes. The temperature and magnetic field dependences of resistivity in various regimes are calculated. The resistivity is proportional to T9/2 for T < T* and to T7/2 for T > T*, T* being the crossover temperature for longitudinal scattering processes. The latter scale plays also an important role in magnetoresistance. The contribution of non-quasiparticle (incoherent) states to the transport properties is discussed. It is shown that they can dominate in the temperature dependence of the impurity-induced resistivity and in the tunnel junction conductivity.

THERMODYNAMICS OF ISOTROPIC AND ANISOTROPIC LAYERED MAGNETS : RENORMALIZATION-GROUP APPROACH AND 1/N EXPANSION

The problem of magnetic ordering in Kondo lattices is discussed. Criteria of ferro- and antiferromagnetism in the mean-field approximation for thes-f exchange model are obtained. In the case of a constant bare DOS, the saturated Kondo ferromagnetic solution is energetically stable at small intersite interactionsJ. The role of spin-fluctuation corrections at lowT<TK in the building up the low-energy scale and the ground state magnetization is considered. Renormalization of spin-fluctuation frequencies atT>TK is calculated. A possible picture of the formation of magnetism is presented starting from the high-T limit.