Spin pumping by a field-driven domain wall

We calculate the charge current in a metallic ferromagnet to first order in the time derivative of the magnetization direction. Irrespective of the microscopic details, the result can be expressed in terms of the conductivities of the majority and minority electrons and the non-adiabatic spin transfer torque parameter $\beta$. The general expression is evaluated for the specific case of a field-driven domain wall and for that case depends strongly on the ratio of $\beta$ and the Gilbert damping constant. These results may provide an experimental method to determine this ratio, which plays a crucial role for current-driven domain-wall motion.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure v2: some typos corrected v3: published versio

Enhancement of the Gilbert damping constant due to spin pumping in noncollinear ferromagnet/nonmagnet/ferromagnet trilayer systems

We analyzed the enhancement of the Gilbert damping constant due to spin pumping in non-collinear ferromagnet / non-magnet / ferromagnet trilayer systems. We show that the Gilbert damping constant depends both on the precession angle of the magnetization of the free layer and on the direction of the magntization of the fixed layer. We find the condition to be satisfied to realize strong enhancement of the Gilbert damping constant.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev.

Nonlocal magnetization dynamics in ferromagnetic heterostructures

Two complementary effects modify the GHz magnetization dynamics of nanoscale heterostructures of ferromagnetic and normal materials relative to those of the isolated magnetic constituents: On the one hand, a time-dependent ferromagnetic magnetization pumps a spin angular-momentum flow into adjacent materials and, on the other hand, spin angular momentum is transferred between ferromagnets by an applied bias, causing mutual torques on the magnetizations. These phenomena are manifestly nonlocal: they are governed by the entire spin-coherent region that is limited in size by spin-flip relaxation processes. We review recent progress in understanding the magnetization dynamics in ferromagnetic heterostructures from first principles, focusing on the role of spin pumping in layered structures. The main body of the theory is semiclassical and based on a mean-field Stoner or spin-density--functional picture, but quantum-size effects and the role of electron-electron correlations are also discussed. A growing number of experiments support the theoretical predictions. The formalism should be useful to understand the physics and to engineer the characteristics of small devices such as magnetic random-access memory elements.Comment: 48 pages, 21 figures (3 in color

Strong suppression of superconductivity by divalent Ytterbium Kondo-holes in CeCoIn_5

To study the nature of partially substituted Yb-ions in a Ce-based Kondo lattice, we fabricated high quality Ce_{1-x}Yb_xCoIn_5 epitaxial thin films using molecular beam epitaxy. We find that the Yb-substitution leads to a linear decrease of the unit cell volume, indicating that Yb-ions are divalent forming Kondo-holes in Ce_{1-x}Yb_xCoIn_5, and leads to a strong suppression of the superconductivity and Kondo coherence. These results, combined with the measurements of Hall effect, indicate that Yb-ions act as nonmagnetic impurity scatters in the coherent Kondo lattice without serious suppression of the antiferromagnetic fluctuations. These are in stark contrast to previous studies performed using bulk single crystals, which claim the importance of valence fluctuations of Yb-ions. The present work also highlights the suitability of epitaxial films in the study of the impurity effect on the Kondo lattice.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure