Direct evidence of the anisotropy of magnetization in rare-earth metals and rare-earth/ Fe2 alloys

Abstract

We report on the genuine origin of the anisotropy of the magnetization M in rare-earth (RE) metals and RE-based alloys. Taking Ho-based layered nanostructures as testing ground, we prove that the anisotropy of M is substantial despite that the sixfold magnetic anisotropy constant K66 vanishes, which contradicts the established wisdom [E. R. Callen and H. B. Callen, J. Phys. Chem. Solids 16, 310 (1960)JPCSAW0022-369710.1016/0022-3697(60)90161-X]. Furthermore, we show that the symmetric anisotropic contributions to M and K66 vary with temperature distinctively from one another, which indicates that both anisotropic effects are unrelated and stem from dissimilar microscopic sources. Our findings are discussed according to the theory [R. J. Elliott and M. F. Thorpe, J. Appl. Phys. 39, 802 (1968)JAPIAU0021-897910.1063/1.2163622] that predicts the emergence of symmetric anisotropic indirect-exchange terms under the presence of orbital moments. We show evidence that the anisotropy of M is caused by the indirect-exchange coupling among localized 4f magnetic moments mediated by spin-orbit coupled conduction electrons, which ultimately generates a spatially nonuniform spin polarization that replicates the lattice symmetry. © 2014 American Physical Society.