TY - JOUR
T1 - Helical and incommensurate spin-density waves in Fe/Cr multilayers with interfacial steps
AU - Fishman, R. S.
PY - 1998
Y1 - 1998
N2 - Although absent in bulk transition metals, a noncollinear, helical (H) spin-density wave (SDW) is stabilized by steps at the interfaces in Fe/Cr multilayers. Using the random-phase approximation, we evaluate the phase boundary between the H SDW and the collinear, incommensurate (I) SDW found in bulk Cr. In agreement with neutron-scattering results, the I-to-H transition temperature TIH is always lower than the bulk Néel temperature TN and the nodes of the I SDW lie near the Fe-Cr interfaces. While a H SDW with a single ±π/2 twist has lower free energy than a I SDW above TN, H SDW's with larger twists are stable between TIH and TN.
AB - Although absent in bulk transition metals, a noncollinear, helical (H) spin-density wave (SDW) is stabilized by steps at the interfaces in Fe/Cr multilayers. Using the random-phase approximation, we evaluate the phase boundary between the H SDW and the collinear, incommensurate (I) SDW found in bulk Cr. In agreement with neutron-scattering results, the I-to-H transition temperature TIH is always lower than the bulk Néel temperature TN and the nodes of the I SDW lie near the Fe-Cr interfaces. While a H SDW with a single ±π/2 twist has lower free energy than a I SDW above TN, H SDW's with larger twists are stable between TIH and TN.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0001243775&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1103/PhysRevLett.81.4979
DO - 10.1103/PhysRevLett.81.4979
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0001243775
SN - 0031-9007
VL - 81
SP - 4979
EP - 4982
JO - Physical Review Letters
JF - Physical Review Letters
IS - 22
ER -