Temperature dependence of surface magnetization in local-moment systems

We present a theory to study the temperature-dependent behavior of surface states in a ferromagnetic semi-infinite crystal. Our approach is based on the single-site approximation for the \emph{s-f} model. The effect of the semi-infinite nature of the crystal is taken into account by a localized perturbation method. Using the mean-field theory for the layer-dependent magnetization, the local density of states and the electron-spin polarization are investigated at different temperatures for ordinary and surface transition cases. The results show that the surface magnetic properties may differ strongly from those in the bulk and the coupling constant of atoms plays a decisive role in the degree of spin polarization. In particular, for the case in which the exchange coupling constant on the surface and between atoms in the first and second layer is higher than the corresponding in the bulk, an enhancement of surface Curie temperature and hence the spin polarization can be obtained.Comment: 9 pages,8 figure

Tailoring ferromagnetic chalcopyrites

If magnetic semiconductors are ever to find wide application in real spintronic devices, their magnetic and electronic properties will require tailoring in much the same way that band gaps are engineered in conventional semiconductors. Unfortunately, no systematic understanding yet exists of how, or even whether, properties such as Curie temperatures and band gaps are related in magnetic semiconductors. Here we explore theoretically these and other relationships within 64 members of a single materials class, the Mn-doped II-IV-V2 chalcopyrites, three of which are already known experimentally to be ferromagnetic semiconductors. Our first-principles results reveal a variation of magnetic properties across different materials that cannot be explained by either of the two dominant models of ferromagnetism in semiconductors. Based on our results for structural, electronic, and magnetic properties, we identify a small number of new stable chalcopyrites with excellent prospects for ferromagnetism.Comment: 6 pages with 4 figures, plus 3 supplementary figures; to appear in Nature Material

Consistent model of magnetism in ferropnictides

The discovery of superconductivity in LaFeAsO introduced the ferropnictides as a major new class of superconducting compounds with critical temperatures second only to cuprates. The presence of magnetic iron makes ferropnictides radically different from cuprates. Antiferromagnetism of the parent compounds strongly suggests that superconductivity and magnetism are closely related. However, the character of magnetic interactions and spin fluctuations in ferropnictides, in spite of vigorous efforts, has until now resisted understanding within any conventional model of magnetism. Here we show that the most puzzling features can be naturally reconciled within a rather simple effective spin model with biquadratic interactions, which is consistent with electronic structure calculations. By going beyond the Heisenberg model, this description explains numerous experimentally observed properties, including the peculiarities of the spin wave spectrum, thin domain walls, crossover from first to second order phase transition under doping in some compounds, and offers new insight in the occurrence of the nematic phase above the antiferromagnetic phase transition.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, revtex

All-optical manipulation and probing of the d-f exchange interaction in EuTe

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