Q-dependence of spin excitations in high-T(C) cuprates from spin-phonon coupling.

An understanding of spin excitations in cuprates is essential since the mechanism of high-T(C) superconductivity might be linked to spin fluctuations. Band calculations for 'one-dimensional' unit cells of La(2)CuO(4) show larger coupling (spin-phonon coupling, SPC) between anti-ferromagnetic spin waves and O-phonons than for Cu- or La-phonons. When this result is applied to a two-dimensional, free-electron like band, it leads to an 'hourglass' shape of the spin excitation spectrum, as in recent experiments. Isotope shifts and doping dependences of the excitations are discussed.

Ferromagnetism below the stoner limit in La-doped SrB6

Spin-polarized band calculations for LaSr7B48 show a weak ferromagnetic state. This is despite a low density of states (DOS) and a low Stoner factor. The reason for the magnetic state is found to be associated with a gain in potential energy in addition to the exchange energy, as a spin splitting is imposed. A DOS with an impuritylike La band is essential for this effect. It makes a correction to the Stoner factor and provides an explanation of the recently observed weak ferromagnetism in doped hexaborides.

The behavior of f-levels in hcp and bcc rare-earth elements in the ground state and XPS and BIS spectroscopy from density-functional theory.

The electronic structures of rare-earth elements in the hexagonal close-packed structure and Europium in the body-centered cubic structure are calculated using density-functional theory (DFT). X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) and bremsstrahlung isochromatic spectroscopy (BIS) simulations are made within DFT by implying that the f-electrons are excited by a large photon energy, either by removal from the occupied states in XPS or by addition to the unoccupied f-states in BIS. The results show sizable differences in the apparent position of the f-states compared to the f-band energy of the ground states. This result is fundamentally different from calculations assuming strong on-site correlation, since all the calculations are based on DFT. The spin-orbit coupling and multiplet splittings are not included, and the present simulation accounts for almost half of the difference between the f-level positions in the DFT ground states and the observed f-level positions. The electronic specific-heat at low T is compatible with the DFT ground state, where f-electrons often reside at the Fermi level.