On the existence conditions of surface spin wave modes in (Ga,Mn)As thin films

Spin-wave resonance (SWR) is a newly emerged method for studying surface magnetic anisotropy and surface spin-wave modes (SSWMs) in (Ga,Mn)As thin films. The existence of SSWMs in (Ga,Mn)As thin films has recently been reported in the literature; SSWMs have been observed in the in-plane configuration (with variable azimuth angle $\phi_M$ between the in-plane magnetization of the film and the surface [100] crystal axis), in the azimuth angle range between two in-plane critical angles $\phi_{c1}$ and $\phi_{c2}$. We show here that cubic surface anisotropy is an essential factor determining the existence conditions of the above-mentioned SSWMs: conditions favorable for the occurrence of surface spin-wave modes in a (Ga,Mn)As thin film in the in-plane configuration are fulfilled for those azimuth orientations of the magnetization of the sample that lie around the hard axes of cubic magnetic anisotropy. This implies that a hard cubic anisotropy axis can be regarded in (Ga,Mn)As thin films as an easy axis for surface spin pinning

A Monte Carlo study of critical properties of strongly diluted magnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As

Within a Monte Carlo technique we examine critical properties of diluted bulk magnetic semiconductor (Ga,Mn)As modeled by a strongly diluted ferromagnetic Heisenberg spin-$\frac{5}{2}$ system on a face centered cubic lattice. We assumed that 5\% of Ga atoms is substituted by Mn atoms and the interaction between them is of the RKKY-type. The considered system is randomly quenched and a double average was performed: firstly, over the Boltzmann probability distribution and secondly - over 2048 configurations related to the quenched disorder. We estimated the critical temperature: $T_c=97\pm6$ K, which is in agreement with the experiment. The calculated high value of critical exponent $\nu$ seems to point to a possibility of non-universal critical behavior.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figure

Re-orientation Transition in Molecular Thin Films: Potts Model with Dipolar Interaction

We study the low-temperature behavior and the phase transition of a thin film by Monte Carlo simulation. The thin film has a simple cubic lattice structure where each site is occupied by a Potts parameter which indicates the molecular orientation of the site. We take only three molecular orientations in this paper which correspond to the 3-state Potts model. The Hamiltonian of the system includes: (i) the exchange interaction $J_{ij}$ between nearest-neighbor sites $i$ and $j$ (ii) the long-range dipolar interaction of amplitude $D$ truncated at a cutoff distance $r_c$ (iii) a single-ion perpendicular anisotropy of amplitude $A$. We allow $J_{ij} =J_s$ between surface spins, and $J_{ij}=J$ otherwise. We show that the ground state depends on the the ratio $D/A$ and $r_c$. For a single layer, for a given $A$, there is a critical value $D_c$ below (above) which the ground-state (GS) configuration of molecular axes is perpendicular (parallel) to the film surface. When the temperature $T$ is increased, a re-orientation transition occurs near $D_c$: the low-$T$ in-plane ordering undergoes a transition to the perpendicular ordering at a finite $T$, below the transition to the paramagnetic phase. The same phenomenon is observed in the case of a film with a thickness. We show that the surface phase transition can occur below or above the bulk transition depending on the ratio $J_s/J$. Surface and bulk order parameters as well as other physical quantities are shown and discussed.Comment: 7 pages, 11 figures, submitted for publicatio

Magnonic Crystal Theory of the Spin-Wave Frequency Gap in Low-Doped La1−xCaxMnO3La_{1-x}Ca_{x}MnO_{3} Manganites

A theory of three-dimensional (3D) hypothetical magnonic crystal (conceived as the magnetic counterpart of the well-known photonic crystal) is developed and applied to explain the existence of a spin-wave frequency gap recently revealed in low-doped manganites $La_{1-x}Ca_{x}MnO_{3}$ by neutron scattering. A successful confrontation with the experimental results allows us to formulate a working hypothesis that certain manganites could be regarded as 3D magnonic crystals existing in nature.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, submitted to PR

Localization Properties of Quantized Magnetostatic Modes in Nanocubes

We investigate the dynamical properties of a system of interacting magnetic dipoles disposed in sites of an sc lattice and forming a cubic-shaped sample of size determined by the cube edge length (N-1)a (a being the lattice constant, N representing the number of dipolar planes). The dipolar field resulting from the dipole-dipole interactions is calculated numerically in points of the axis connecting opposite cube face centers (central axis) by collecting individual contributions to this field coming from each of the N atomic planes perpendicular to the central axis. The applied magnetic field is assumed to be oriented along the central axis, magnetizing uniformly the whole sample, all the dipoles being aligned parallelly in the direction of the applied field. The frequency spectrum of magnetostatic waves propagating in the direction of the applied field is found numerically by solving the Landau-Lifshitz equation of motion including the local (nonhomogeneous) dipolar field component; the mode amplitude spatial distributions (mode profiles) are depicted as well. It is found that only the two energetically highest modes have bulk-extended character. All the remaining modes are of localized nature; more precisely, the modes forming the lower part of the spectrum are localized in the subsurface region, while the upper-spectrum modes are localized around the sample center. We show that the mode localization regions narrow down as the cube size, N, increases (we investigated the range of N=21 to N=101), and in sufficiently large cubes one obtains practically only center-localized and surface-localized magnetostatic modes.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figures in postscript, useing Revtex4.cl

Wave modes of collective vortex gyration in dipolar-coupled-dot-array magnonic crystals

Lattice vibration modes are collective excitations in periodic arrays of atoms or molecules. These modes determine novel transport properties in solid crystals. Analogously, in periodical arrangements of magnetic vortex-state disks, collective vortex motions have been predicted. Here, we experimentally observe wave modes of collective vortex gyration in one-dimensional (1D) periodic arrays of magnetic disks using time-resolved scanning transmission x-ray microscopy. The observed modes are interpreted based on micromagnetic simulation and numerical calculation of coupled Thiele equations. Dispersion of the modes is found to be strongly affected by both vortex polarization and chirality ordering, as revealed by the explicit analytical form of 1D infinite arrays. A thorough understanding thereof is fundamental both for lattice vibrations and vortex dynamics, which we demonstrate for 1D magnonic crystals. Such magnetic disk arrays with vortex-state ordering, referred to as magnetic metastructure, offer potential implementation into information processing devices.open8