Unravelling the role of Sm 4f electrons in the magnetism of SmFeO${}_3$

Abstract

Magnetic rare-earth orthoferrites $R$FeO${}_3$ host a variety of functional properties from multiferroicity and strong magnetostriction, to spin-reorientation transitions and ultrafast light-driven manipulation of magnetism, which can be exploited in spintronics and next-generation devices. Among these systems, SmFeO${}_3$ is attracting a particular interest for its rich phase diagram and the high temperature Fe-spin magnetic transitions, which combines with a very low temperature and as yet unclear Sm-spin ordering. Various experiments suggest that the interaction between the Sm and Fe magnetic moments (further supported by the magnetic anisotropy), is at the origin of the complex cascade of transitions, but a conclusive and clear picture has not yet been reached. In this work, by means of comprehensive first-principles calculations, we unravel the role of the magnetic Sm ions in the Fe-spin reorientation transition and in the detected anomalies in the lattice vibrational spectrum, which are a signature of a relevant spin-phonon coupling. By including both Sm-$f$ electrons and non-collinear magnetism, we find frustrated and anisotropic Sm interactions, and a large magnetocrystalline anisotropy mediated by the SOC of the Sm-$4f$ electrons, which drive the complex magnetic properties and phase diagram of SmFeO${}_3$.

References in corpus (7)

• Restoring the density-gradient expansion for exchange in solids and surfaces
• Generalized gradient approximation for solids and their surfaces
• Light-driven ultrafast phonomagnetism
• Raman spectroscopy of rare-earth orthoferrites RFeO3 (R = La, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy)
• k=0 magnetic structure and absence of ferroelectricity in SmFeO3
• Structural, Elastic and Electronic Properties of $SmFe{O}_3$ using Density Functional Theory
• The Spin-Reorientation Transition in TmFeO3

Cited by in corpus (4)

• Laser-enhanced magnetism in SmFeO${}_3$
• Terahertz high-harmonic generation in gapped antiferromagnetic chains
• Tailoring spin reorientation and magnetic interaction for room-temperature spintronics in Tb-Doped SmFeO3 single crystal
• Cavity-assisted magnetization switching in a quantum spin-phonon chain