Using exact diagonalization, Monte-Carlo, and mean-field techniques, characteristic temperature scales for ferromagnetic order are discussed for the Ising and the classical anisotropic Heisenberg model on finite lattices in one and two dimensions. Th
e interplay between nearest-neighbor exchange, anisotropy and the presence of surfaces leads, as a function of temperature, to a complex behavior of the distance-dependent spin-spin correlation function, which is very different from what is commonly expected. A finite experimental observation time is considered in addition, which is simulated within the Monte-Carlo approach by an incomplete statistical average. We find strong surface effects for small nanoparticles, which cannot be explained within a simple Landau or mean-field concept and which give rise to characteristic trends of the spin-correlation function in different temperature regimes. Unambiguous definitions of crossover temperatures for finite systems and an effective method to estimate the critical temperature of corresponding infinite systems are given.
The orientation of the magnetization of a Ni(110) surface was investigated using techniques with different probing depths. By making use of electron capture into excited states of fast He atoms, we found that the magnetization of the topmost surface
layer is not aligned along the easy axes of Ni. However, for a 50 ML film Fe on Ni(110) we observed the magnetization of the topmost Fe surface layer is along the easy axes of Fe.
Using the local spin-density approximation (LSDA) and the (non self-consistent) GW approach, the (quasi-particle) band structure is calculated for MnTe in zinc-blende geometry. Different parameters characterizing the electronic structure are computed
for an antiferromagnetic and the ferromagnetic phase and compared with the experiment. The strong Hubbard-type repulsion on the Mn-3d orbitals and the p-d hybridization are seen to be responsible for substantial defects found in the LSDA picture. It is discussed to which extent these can be improved upon by means of the GW approach.
