Signatures of magnetism control by flow of angular momentum.

Exploring new strategies to manipulate the order parameter of magnetic materials by electrical means is of great importance not only for advancing our understanding of fundamental magnetism but also for unlocking potential applications. A well-established concept uses gate voltages to control magnetic properties by modulating the carrier population in a capacitor structure1-5. Here we show that, in Pt/Al/Fe/GaAs(001) multilayers, the application of an in-plane charge current in Pt leads to a shift in the ferromagnetic resonance field depending on the microwave frequency when the Fe film is sufficiently thin. The experimental observation is interpreted as a current-induced modification of the magnetocrystalline anisotropy ΔHA of Fe. We show that (1) ΔHA decreases with increasing Fe film thickness and is connected to the damping-like torque; and (2) ΔHA depends not only on the polarity of charge current but also on the magnetization direction, that is, ΔHA has an opposite sign when the magnetization direction is reversed. The symmetry of the modification is consistent with a current-induced spin6-8 and/or orbit9-13 accumulation, which, respectively, act on the spin and/or orbit component of the magnetization. In this study, as Pt is regarded as a typical spin current source6,14, the spin current can play a dominant part. The control of magnetism by a spin current results from the modified exchange splitting of the majority and minority spin bands, providing functionality that was previously unknown and could be useful in advanced spintronic devices.

Large magnetic gap at the Dirac point in Bi2Te3/MnBi2Te4 heterostructures.

Magnetically doped topological insulators enable the quantum anomalous Hall effect (QAHE), which provides quantized edge states for lossless charge-transport applications1-8. The edge states are hosted by a magnetic energy gap at the Dirac point2, but hitherto all attempts to observe this gap directly have been unsuccessful. Observing the gap is considered to be essential to overcoming the limitations of the QAHE, which so far occurs only at temperatures that are one to two orders of magnitude below the ferromagnetic Curie temperature, TC (ref. 8). Here we use low-temperature photoelectron spectroscopy to unambiguously reveal the magnetic gap of Mn-doped Bi2Te3, which displays ferromagnetic out-of-plane spin texture and opens up only below TC. Surprisingly, our analysis reveals large gap sizes at 1 kelvin of up to 90 millielectronvolts, which is five times larger than theoretically predicted9. Using multiscale analysis we show that this enhancement is due to a remarkable structure modification induced by Mn doping: instead of a disordered impurity system, a self-organized alternating sequence of MnBi2Te4 septuple and Bi2Te3 quintuple layers is formed. This enhances the wavefunction overlap and size of the magnetic gap10. Mn-doped Bi2Se3 (ref. 11) and Mn-doped Sb2Te3 form similar heterostructures, but for Bi2Se3 only a nonmagnetic gap is formed and the magnetization is in the surface plane. This is explained by the smaller spin-orbit interaction by comparison with Mn-doped Bi2Te3. Our findings provide insights that will be crucial in pushing lossless transport in topological insulators towards room-temperature applications.

Interfacial Tuning of Anisotropic Gilbert Damping.

Tuning of the anisotropic Gilbert damping Δα has been realized in ultrathin single-crystalline Fe films grown on GaAs (001). A nonmonotonic dependence of Δα on film thickness t is observed upon varying t about 10 ML (∼1.4 nm). Δα increases for 16 ML>t>8.5 ML, and then decreases for 8.5 ML>t>6.5 ML accompanied by a sign reversal of Δα for t=6.5 ML. The sign reversal of Δα is captured by first-principle calculations, which show that the anisotropic density of states changes sign upon decreasing t. Moreover, t^{-1} dependence of the anisotropic damping indicates the emergence of an anisotropic effective spin mixing conductance according to the theory of spin pumping. The results establish new opportunities for controlling the Gilbert damping and for fundamental studies of magnetization dynamics in reduced dimension.

Revealing Hidden Orbital Pseudospin Texture with Time-Reversal Dichroism in Photoelectron Angular Distributions.

We performed angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) of bulk 2H-WSe_{2} for different crystal orientations linked to each other by time-reversal symmetry. We introduce a new observable called time-reversal dichroism in photoelectron angular distributions (TRDAD), which quantifies the modulation of the photoemission intensity upon effective time-reversal operation. We demonstrate that the hidden orbital pseudospin texture leaves its imprint on TRDAD, due to multiple orbital interference effects in photoemission. Our experimental results are in quantitative agreement with both the tight-binding model and state-of-the-art fully relativistic calculations performed using the one-step model of photoemission. While spin-resolved ARPES probes the spin component of entangled spin-orbital texture in multiorbital systems, we unambiguously demonstrate that TRDAD reveals its orbital pseudospin texture counterpart.

Observation of the spin Nernst effect.

The observation of the spin Hall effect triggered intense research on pure spin current transport. With the spin Hall effect, the spin Seebeck effect and the spin Peltier effect already observed, our picture of pure spin current transport is almost complete. The only missing piece is the spin Nernst (-Ettingshausen) effect, which so far has been discussed only on theoretical grounds. Here, we report the observation of the spin Nernst effect. By applying a longitudinal temperature gradient, we generate a pure transverse spin current in a Pt thin film. For readout, we exploit the magnetization-orientation-dependent spin transfer to an adjacent yttrium iron garnet layer, converting the spin Nernst current in Pt into a controlled change of the longitudinal and transverse thermopower voltage. Our experiments show that the spin Nernst and the spin Hall effect in Pt are of comparable magnitude, but differ in sign, as corroborated by first-principles calculations.

Tuning Spin Hall Angles by Alloying.

Within a combined experimental and theoretical study it is shown that the spin Hall angle of a substitutional alloy system can be continuously varied via its composition. For the alloy system Au_{x}Pt_{1-x} a substantial increase of the maximum spin Hall angle compared to the pure alloy partners could be achieved this way. The experimental findings for the longitudinal charge conductivity σ, the transverse spin Hall conductivity σ_{SH}, and the spin Hall angle α_{SH} could be confirmed by calculations based on Kubo's linear response formalism. Calculations of these response quantities for different temperatures show that the divergent behavior of σ and σ_{SH} is rapidly suppressed with increasing temperature. As a consequence, σ_{SH} is dominated at higher temperatures by its intrinsic contribution that has only a rather weak temperature dependence.

Momentum-resolved spin dynamics of bulk and surface excited States in the topological insulator Bi(2)Se(3).

The prospect of optically inducing and controlling a spin-polarized current in spintronic devices has generated wide interest in the out-of-equilibrium electronic and spin structure of topological insulators. In this Letter we show that only measuring the spin intensity signal over several orders of magnitude by spin-, time-, and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy can provide a comprehensive description of the optically excited electronic states in Bi_{2}Se_{3}. Our experiments reveal the existence of a surface resonance state in the second bulk band gap that is benchmarked by fully relativistic ab initio spin-resolved photoemission calculations. We propose that the newly reported state plays a major role in the ultrafast dynamics of the system, acting as a bottleneck for the interaction between the topologically protected surface state and the bulk conduction band. In fact, the spin-polarization dynamics in momentum space show that these states display macroscopically different temperatures and, more importantly, different cooling rates over several picoseconds.

Mixed dimensionality of confined conducting electrons in the surface region of SrTiO3.

Using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we show that the recently discovered surface state on SrTiO(3) consists of nondegenerate t(2g) states with different dimensional characters. While the d(xy) bands have quasi-2D dispersions with weak k(z) dependence, the lifted d(xz)/d(yz) bands show 3D dispersions that differ significantly from bulk expectations and signal that electrons associated with those orbitals permeate the near-surface region. Like their more 2D counterparts, the size and character of the d(xz)/d(yz) Fermi surface components are essentially the same for different sample preparations. Irradiating SrTiO(3) in ultrahigh vacuum is one method observed so far to induce the "universal" surface metallic state. We reveal that during this process, changes in the oxygen valence band spectral weight that coincide with the emergence of surface conductivity are disproportionate to any change in the total intensity of the O 1s core level spectrum. This signifies that the formation of the metallic surface goes beyond a straightforward chemical doping scenario and occurs in conjunction with profound changes in the initial states and/or spatial distribution of near-E(F) electrons in the surface region.

Bulk electronic structure of the dilute magnetic semiconductor Ga(1-x)Mn(x)As through hard X-ray angle-resolved photoemission.

A detailed understanding of the origin of the magnetism in dilute magnetic semiconductors is crucial to their development for applications. Using hard X-ray angle-resolved photoemission (HARPES) at 3.2 keV, we investigate the bulk electronic structure of the prototypical dilute magnetic semiconductor Ga(0.97)Mn(0.03)As, and the reference undoped GaAs. The data are compared to theory based on the coherent potential approximation and fully relativistic one-step-model photoemission calculations including matrix-element effects. Distinct differences are found between angle-resolved, as well as angle-integrated, valence spectra of Ga(0.97)Mn(0.03)As and GaAs, and these are in good agreement with theory. Direct observation of Mn-induced states between the GaAs valence-band maximum and the Fermi level, centred about 400 meV below this level, as well as changes throughout the full valence-level energy range, indicates that ferromagnetism in Ga(1-x)Mn(x)As must be considered to arise from both p-d exchange and double exchange, thus providing a more unifying picture of this controversial material.

Hyperfine splitting and room-temperature ferromagnetism of Ni at multimegabar pressure.

Magnetic and elastic properties of Ni metal have been studied up to 260 GPa by nuclear forward scattering of synchrotron radiation with the 67.4 keV Mössbauer transition of 61Ni. The observed magnetic hyperfine splitting confirms the ferromagnetic state of Ni up to 260 GPa, the highest pressure where magnetism in any material has been observed so far. Ab initio calculations reveal that the pressure evolution of the hyperfine field, which features a maximum in the range of 100 to 225 GPa, is a relativistic effect. The Debye energy obtained from the Lamb-Mössbauer factor increases from 33 meV at ambient pressure to 60 meV at 100 GPa. The change of this energy over volume compression is well described by a Grüneisen parameter of 2.09.

Reversal of the circular dichroism in angle-resolved photoemission from Bi2Te3.

The helical Dirac fermions at the surface of topological insulators show a strong circular dichroism which has been explained as being due to either the initial-state spin angular momentum, the initial-state orbital angular momentum, or the handedness of the experimental setup. All of these interpretations conflict with our data from Bi(2)Te(3) which depend on the photon energy and show several sign changes. Our one-step photoemission calculations coupled to ab initio theory confirm the sign change and assign the dichroism to a final-state effect. Instead, the spin polarization of the photoelectrons excited with linearly polarized light remains a reliable probe for the spin in the initial state.

Identifying the electronic character and role of the Mn states in the valence band of (Ga,Mn)As.

We report high-resolution hard x-ray photoemission spectroscopy results on (Ga,Mn)As films as a function of Mn doping. Supported by theoretical calculations we identify, for both low (1%) and high (13%) Mn doping values, the electronic character of the states near the top of the valence band. Magnetization and temperature-dependent core-level photoemission spectra reveal how the delocalized character of the Mn states enables the bulk ferromagnetic properties of (Ga,Mn)As.

Probing bulk electronic structure with hard X-ray angle-resolved photoemission.

Traditional ultraviolet/soft X-ray angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) may in some cases be too strongly influenced by surface effects to be a useful probe of bulk electronic structure. Going to hard X-ray photon energies and thus larger electron inelastic mean-free paths should provide a more accurate picture of bulk electronic structure. We present experimental data for hard X-ray ARPES (HARPES) at energies of 3.2 and 6.0 keV. The systems discussed are W, as a model transition-metal system to illustrate basic principles, and GaAs, as a technologically-relevant material to illustrate the potential broad applicability of this new technique. We have investigated the effects of photon wave vector on wave vector conservation, and assessed methods for the removal of phonon-associated smearing of features and photoelectron diffraction effects. The experimental results are compared to free-electron final-state model calculations and to more precise one-step photoemission theory including matrix element effects.

Fe spin reorientation across the metamagnetic transition in strained FeRh thin films.

A spin reorientation accompanying the temperature-induced antiferromagnetic (AFM) to ferromagnetic (FM) phase transition is reported in strained epitaxial FeRh thin films. (57)Fe conversion electron Mössbauer spectrometry showed that the Fe moments have different orientations in FeRh grown on thick single-crystalline MgO and in FeRh grown on ion-beam-assist-deposited (IBAD) MgO. It was also observed, in both samples, that the Fe moments switch orientations at the AFM to FM phase transition. Perpendicular anisotropy was evidenced in the AFM phase of the film grown on IBAD MgO and in the FM phase of that grown on regular MgO. Density-functional theory calculations enabled this spin-reorientation transition to be accurately reproduced for both FeRh films across the AFM-FM phase transition and show that these results are due to differences in strain.

Ab initio calculation of the Gilbert damping parameter via the linear response formalism.

A Kubo-Greenwood-like equation for the Gilbert damping parameter α is presented that is based on the linear response formalism. Its implementation using the fully relativistic Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker band structure method in combination with coherent potential approximation alloy theory allows it to be applied to a wide range of situations. This is demonstrated with results obtained for the bcc alloy system Fe(1-x)Co(x) as well as for a series of alloys of Permalloy with 5d transition metals. To account for the thermal displacements of atoms as a scattering mechanism, an alloy-analogy model is introduced. The corresponding calculations for Ni correctly describe the rapid change of α when small amounts of substitutional Cu are introduced.

Coherent description of the intrinsic and extrinsic anomalous Hall effect in disordered alloys on an ab initio level.

A coherent description of the anomalous Hall effect is presented that is applicable to pure and disordered systems. This is achieved by an implementation of the Kubo-Streda equation using the fully relativistic Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker method in combination with the coherent potential approximation. Applications to the pure ferromagnets Fe and Ni led to results in full accordance with previous work. For the alloy systems Fe(x)Pd(1-x) and Ni(x)Pd(1-x) very satisfying agreement with experiment could be achieved for the anomalous Hall conductivity. To interpret these results a detailed discussion of the skew and side-jump scattering processes is given.

Spin-dependent electron reflection at W(110).

Spin-dependent reflection of low-energy electrons at the W(110) surface caused by spin-orbit interaction was studied experimentally and theoretically. Comprehensive information for a wide range of electron incidence angles and energies was collected via maps for the reflectivity, the spin-dependent reflection asymmetry, and the figure of merit of the spin separation. The experimental results are compared with calculations of the scattering process using a realistic surface potential barrier. The results are discussed in view of possible applications of W(110) as a scattering target in spin-polarization detectors. Possible working points for use in single- as well as multi-channel spin-polarization-detection devices are identified and discussed.

Strength of correlation effects in the electronic structure of iron.

The strength of electronic correlation effects in the spin-dependent electronic structure of ferromagnetic bcc Fe(110) has been investigated by means of spin and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. The experimental results are compared to theoretical calculations within the three-body scattering approximation and within the dynamical mean-field theory, together with one-step model calculations of the photoemission process. This comparison indicates that the present state of the art many-body calculations, although improving the description of correlation effects in Fe, give too small mass renormalizations and scattering rates thus demanding more refined many-body theories including nonlocal fluctuations.

Relativistic optimized effective potential method-application to alkali metals.

We present a relativistic formulation of the optimized effective potential method (ROEP) and its implementation within the Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker multiple scattering formalism. The scheme is an all-electron approach, treating core and band states formally on the same footing. We use exact exchange (EXX) as an approximation to the exchange correlation functional. Numerical four-component wavefunctions for the description of core and valence electrons and the corresponding ingredients of the ROEP integral equation are employed. The exact exchange expression for the valence states is reformulated in terms of the electronic Green's function that in turn is evaluated by making use of multiple scattering formalism. We present and discuss the application of the formalism to non-magnetic alkali metals.

Spin-filtered time-of-flight k-space microscopy of Ir - Towards the "complete" photoemission experiment.

The combination of momentum microscopy (high resolution imaging of the Fourier plane) with an imaging spin filter has recently set a benchmark in k-resolution and spin-detection efficiency. Here we show that the degree of parallelization can be further increased by time-of-flight energy recording. On the quest towards maximum information (in earlier work termed "complete" photoemission experiment) we have studied the prototypical high-Z fcc metal iridium. Large partial bandgaps and strong spin-orbit interaction lead to a sequence of spin-polarized surface resonances. Soft X-rays give access to the 4D spectral density function ρ (EB,kx,ky,kz) weighted by the photoemission cross section. The Fermi surface and all other energy isosurfaces, Fermi velocity distribution vF(kF), electron or hole conductivity, effective mass and inner potential can be obtained from the multi-dimensional array ρ by simple algorithms. Polarized light reveals the linear and circular dichroism texture in a simple manner and an imaging spin filter exposes the spin texture. One-step photoemission calculations are in fair agreement with experiment. Comparison of the Bloch spectral function with photoemission calculations uncovers that the observed high spin polarization of photoelectrons from bulk bands originates from the photoemission step and is not present in the initial state.