2017/07/14 by Manuel dos Santos Dias, Samir Lounis · 4 citations
Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Angular momentum #Electron magnetic dipole moment #Magnetic and transport properties of perovskites and related materials #Magnetic dipole #Magnetic moment #Magnetic properties of thin films #Magnetism #Orbital magnetization #Scalar (mathematics) #Spin (aerodynamics) #ZnO doping and properties #cond-mat.mes-hall
paper · pdf · doi:10.1117/12.2275305
arxiv created 2017/07/14 · openalex created_date 2017/07/21 · openalex publication_date 2017/09/06 · arxiv updated 2017/09/18 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
The orbital magnetic moment is usually associated with the relativistic spin-orbit interaction, but recently it has been shown that noncollinear magnetic structures can also be its driving force. This is important not only for magnetic skyrmions, but also for other noncollinear structures, either bulk-like or at the nanoscale, with consequences regarding their experimental detection. In this work we present a minimal model that contains the effects of both the relativistic spin-orbit interaction and of magnetic noncollinearity on the orbital magnetism. A hierarchy of models is discussed in a step-by-step fashion, highlighting the role of time-reversal symmetry breaking for translational and spin and orbital angular motions. Couplings of spin-orbit and orbit-orbit type are identified as arising from the magnetic noncollinearity. We recover the atomic contribution to the orbital magnetic moment, and a nonlocal one due to the presence of circulating bound currents, exploring different balances between the kinetic energy, the spin exchange interaction, and the relativistic spin-orbit interaction. The connection to the scalar spin chirality is examined. The orbital magnetism driven by magnetic noncollinearity is mostly unexplored, and the presented model contributes to laying its groundwork.