No Arabic abstract
The ${ittext{state-of-the-art}}$ theoretical description of magnetic materials relies on solving effective Heisenberg spin problems or their generalizations to relativistic or multi-spin-interaction cases that explicitly assume the presence of local magnetic moments in the system. We start with a general interacting fermionic model that is often obtained in ${ittext{ab initio}}$ electronic structure calculations and show that the corresponding spin problem can be introduced even in the paramagnetic regime, which is characterized by a zero average value of the magnetization. Further, we derive a physical criterion for the formation of the local magnetic moment and confirm that the latter exists already at high temperatures well above the transition to the ordered magnetic state. The use of path-integral techniques allows us to disentangle spin and electronic degrees of freedom and to carefully separate rotational dynamics of the local magnetic moment from Higgs fluctuations of its absolute value. It also allows us to accurately derive the topological Berry phase and relate it to a physical bosonic variable that describes dynamics of the spin degrees of freedom. As the result, we demonstrate that the equation of motion for the derived spin problem takes a conventional Landau-Lifshitz form that explicitly accounts for the Gilbert damping due to itinerant nature of the original electronic model.
We investigate the properties of antiferromagnetic spin-S ladders with the help of local Berry phases defined by imposing a twist on one or a few local bonds. In gapped systems with time reversal symmetry, these Berry phases are quantized, hence able in principle to characterize different phases. In the case of a fully frustrated ladder where the total spin on a rung is a conserved quantity that changes abruptly upon increasing the rung coupling, we show that two Berry phases are relevant to detect such phase transitions: the rung Berry phase defined by imposing a twist on one rung coupling, and the twist Berry phase defined by twisting the boundary conditions along the legs. In the case of non-frustrated ladders, we have followed the fate of both Berry phases when interpolating between standard ladders and dimerized spin chains. A careful investigation of the spin gap and of edge states shows that a change of twist Berry phase is associated to a quantum phase transition at which the bulk gap closes, and at which, with appropriate boundary conditions, edge states appear or disappear, while a change of rung Berry phase is not necessarily associated to a quantum phase transition. The difference is particularly acute for regular ladders, in which the twist Berry phase does not change at all upon increasing the rung coupling from zero to infinity while the rung Berry phase changes 2S times. By analogy with the fully frustrated ladder, these changes are interpreted as cross-overs between domains in which the rungs are in different states of total spin from 0 in the strong rung limit to 2S in the weak rung limit. This interpretation is further supported by the observation that these cross-overs turn into real phase transitions as a function of rung coupling if one rung is strongly ferromagnetic, or equivalently if one rung is replaced by a spin 2S impurity.
We investigate the magnetic response in the quantized spin Hall (SH) phase of layered-honeycomb lattice system with intrinsic spin-orbit coupling lambda_SO and on-site Hubbard U. The response is characterized by a parameter g= 4 U a^2 d / 3, where a and d are the lattice constant and interlayer distance, respectively. When g< (sigma_{xy}^{s2} mu)^{-1}, where sigma_{xy}^{s} is the quantized spin Hall conductivity and mu is the magnetic permeability, the magnetic field inside the sample oscillates spatially. The oscillation vanishes in the non-interacting limit U -> 0. When g > (sigma_{xy}^{s2} mu)^{-1}, the system shows perfect diamagnetism, i.e., the Meissner effect occurs. We find that superlattice structure with large lattice constant is favorable to see these phenomena. We also point out that, as a result of Zeeman coupling, the topologically-protected helical edge states shows weak diamagnetism which is independent of the parameter g.
Identifying the nature of magnetism, itinerant or localized, remains a major challenge in condensed-matter science. Purely localized moments appear only in magnetic insulators, whereas itinerant moments more or less co-exist with localized moments in metallic compounds such as the doped-cuprate or the iron-based superconductors, hampering a thorough understanding of the role of magnetism in phenomena like superconductivity or magnetoresistance. Here we distinguish two antiferromagnetic modulations with respective propagation wave vectors of $Q_{pm}$ = ($H pm 0.557(1)$, 0, $L pm 0.150(1)$) and $Q_text{C}$ = ($H pm 0.564(1)$, 0, $L$), where $left(H, Lright)$ are allowed Miller indices, in an ErPd$_2$Si$_2$ single crystal by neutron scattering and establish their respective temperature- and field-dependent phase diagrams. The modulations can co-exist but also compete depending on temperature or applied field strength. They couple differently with the underlying lattice albeit with associated moments in a common direction. The $Q_{pm}$ modulation may be attributed to localized 4emph{f} moments while the $Q_text{C}$ correlates well with itinerant conduction bands, supported by our transport studies. Hence, ErPd$_2$Si$_2$ represents a new model compound that displays clearly-separated itinerant and localized moments, substantiating early theoretical predictions and providing a unique platform allowing the study of itinerant electron behavior in a localized antiferromagnetic matrix.
We use an extended two-band Kondo lattice model (KLM) to investigate the occurrence of different (anti-)ferromagnetic phases or phase separation depending on several model parameters. With regard to CMR-materials like the manganites we have added a Jahn-Teller term, direct antiferromagnetic coupling and Coulomb interaction to the KLM. The electronic properties are self-consistently calculated in an interpolating self-energy approach with no restriction to classical spins and going beyond mean-field treatments. Further on we do not have to limit the Hunds coupling to low or infinite values. Zero-temperature phase diagrams are presented for large parameter intervals. There are strong influences of the type of Coulomb interaction (intraband, interband) and of the important parameters (Hunds coupling, direct antiferromagnetic exchange, Jahn-Teller distortion), especially at intermediate couplings.
Using a cluster extension of the dynamical mean-field theory (CDMFT) we map out the magnetic phase diagram of the anisotropic square lattice Hubbard model with nearest-neighbor intrachain $t$ and interchain $t_{perp}$ hopping amplitudes at half-filling. A fixed value of the next-nearest-neighbor hopping $t=-t_{perp}/2$ removes the nesting property of the Fermi surface and stabilizes a paramagnetic metal phase in the weak-coupling regime. In the isotropic and moderately anisotropic regions, a growing spin entropy in the metal phase is quenched out at a critical interaction strength by the onset of long-range antiferromagnetic (AF) order of preformed local moments. It gives rise to a first-order metal-insulator transition consistent with the Mott-Heisenberg picture. In contrast, a strongly anisotropic regime $t_{perp}/tlesssim 0.3$ displays a quantum critical behavior related to the continuous transition between an AF metal phase and the AF insulator. Hence, within the present framework of CDMFT, the opening of the charge gap is magnetically driven as advocated in the Slater picture. We also discuss how the lattice-anisotropy-induced evolution of the electronic structure on a metallic side of the phase diagram is tied to the emergence of quantum criticality.