Spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy of half-metallic ferromagnets: Non-quasiparticle contributions

The role of the many-body (spin-polaronic) effects in the scanning tunneling spectroscopy of half-metallic ferromagnets (HMF) is considered. It is shown that the non-quasiparticle (NQP) states exist in the majority or minority spin gap in the presence of arbitrary external potential and, in particular, at the surfaces and interfaces. Energy dependence of the NQP density of states is obtained in various models of HMF, an important role of the hybridization nature of the energy gap being demonstrated. The corresponding temperature dependence of spin polarization is calculated. It is shown that the NQP states result in a sharp bias dependence of the tunneling conductance near zero bias. Asymmetry of the NQP states with respect to the Fermi energy provides an opportunity to separate phonon and magnon peaks in the inelastic spectroscopy by STM.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figure

Electron states and magnetic phase diagrams of strongly correlated systems

Various auxiliary-particle approaches to treat electron correlations in many-electron models are analyzed. Applications to copper-oxide layered systems are discussed. The ground-state magnetic phase diagrams are considered within the Hubbard and $s$-$d$ exchange (Kondo) models for square and simple cubic lattices vs. band filling and interaction parameter. A generalized Hartree-Fock approximation is employed to treat commensurate ferro-, antiferromagnetic, and incommensurate (spiral) magnetic phases, and also magnetic phase separation. The correlations are taken into account within the Hubbard model by using the slave-boson approach. The main advantage of this approach is correct estimating the contribution of doubly occupied states number and therefore the paramagnetic phase energy.Comment: Physics of Metals and Metallography, special issue, 4 page

Non-Fermi-liquid behavior in the Kondo lattices induced by peculiarities of magnetic ordering and spin dynamics

A scaling consideration of the Kondo lattices is performed with account of singularities in the spin excitation spectral function. It is shown that a non-Fermi-liquid (NFL) behavior between two critical values of the bare $s-f$ coupling constant occurs naturally for complicated magnetic structures with several magnon branches. This may explain the fact that a NFL behavior takes place often in the heavy-fermion systems with peculiar spin dynamics. Another kind of a NFL-like state (with different critical exponents) can occur for simple antiferromagnets with account of magnon damping, and for paramagnets, especially with two-dimensional character of spin fluctuations. The mechanisms proposed lead to some predictions about behavior of specific heat, resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, and anisotropy parameter, which can be verified experimentally.Comment: 16 pages, RevTeX, 4 Postscript figures. Extended versio

Exciton effects in a scaling theory of intermediate valence and Kondo systems

An interplay of the Kondo scattering and exciton effects (d-f Coulomb interaction) in the intermediate valence systems and Kondo lattices is demonstrated to lead to an essential change of the scaling behavior in comparison with the standard Anderson model. In particular, a marginal regime can occur where characteristic fluctuation rate is proportional to flow cutoff parameter. In this regime the "Kondo temperature" itself is strongly temperature dependent which may give a key to the interpretation of controversial experimental data for heavy fermion and related systems.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Scaling picture of magnetism formation in the anomalous f-systems: interplay of the Kondo effect and spin dynamics

Formation of magnetically ordered state in the Kondo lattices is treated within the degenerate $s-f$ 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 $s-f$ 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.Comment: 20 pages, RevTeX, 13 figure

On the 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.Comment: 46 pages, RevTeX, 7 figure

On the derivation of the t-J model: electron spectrum and exchange interactions in narrow energy bands

A derivation of the t-J model of a highly-correlated solid is given starting from the general many-electron Hamiltonian with account of the non-orthogonality of atomic wave functions. Asymmetry of the Hubbard subbands (i.e. of ``electron'' and ``hole''cases) for a nearly half-filled bare band is demonstrated. The non-orthogonality corrections are shown to lead to occurrence of indirect antiferromagnetic exchange interaction even in the limit of the infinite on-site Coulomb repulsion. Consequences of this treatment for the magnetism formation in narrow energy bands are discussed. Peculiarities of the case of ``frustrated'' lattices, which contain triangles of nearest neighbors, are considered.Comment: 4 pages, RevTe

Tunable spin transport in CrAs: role of correlation effects

Correlation effects on the electronic structure of half-metallic CrAs in zinc-blende structure are studied for different substrate lattice constants. Depending on the substrate the spectral weight of the non-quasiparticle states might be tuned from a well developed value in the case of InAs substrate to an almost negligible contribution for the GaAs one. A piezoelectric material that would allow the change in the substrate lattice parameters opens the possibility for practical investigations of the switchable (tunable) non-quasiparticle states. Since the latter are important for the tunneling magnetoresistance and related phenomena it creates new opportunities in spintronics.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables. accepted PRB 71, 1 (2005