Giant orbital moments of Fe and Co in alkali metals Cs, Rb, and K

Abstract

Orbital-polarization corrected relativistic spin-density-functional calculations of Fe and Co in alkali metals (K, Rb, and Cs) predict that unlike other transition-metal systems where the orbital magnetic moments are quenched, Fe and Co in alkali metals possess a giant orbital moment of 2-3 μB along with a large spin moment. The induced moments on the host atoms are small. The large orbital moments result from the weak interaction between the 3d impurities and the host atoms. The results reveal the origin of the giant moments observed in Fe and Co in Cs films.