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Ab-Initio And Model Studies Of Spin Fluctuation Effects In Transport And Thermodynamics Of Magnetic Metals, James K. Glasbrenner

Department of Physics and Astronomy: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Magnetic materials are vital to many devices and the manipulation of spins is central to the operation of novel devices such as spin transistors. It is important to understand the effect of spin fluctuations on such systems. In this dissertation, first-principles calculations and models further the understanding of spin fluctuation effects in the transport and thermodynamics of magnetic metals.

A simple classical spin-fluctuation Hamiltonian with a single itinerancy parameter is studied using the mean-field approximation, Monte Carlo simulations, and a generalized Onsager cavity field method. The results of these different methods are in agreement. It is found that the thermodynamics …