Ab initio calculation of electronic structure, crystal field, and intrinsic magnetic properties of Sm2Fe17, Sm2Fe17N3, Sm2Fe17C3, and Sm2Co17

Methods of Modeling of Strongly Correlated Electron Systems

The discovery of high-Tc superconductivity in cuprates in 1986 moved strongly correlated systems from exotic worlds interesting only for pure theorists to the focus of solid-state research. In recent decades, the majority of hot topics in condensed matter physics (high-Tc superconductivity, colossal magnetoresistance, multiferroicity, ferromagnetism in diluted magnetic semiconductors, etc.) have been related to strongly correlated transition metal compounds. The highly successful electronic structure calculations based on density functional theory lose their predictive power when applied to such compounds. It is necessary to go beyond the mean field approximation and use the many-body theory. The methods and models that were developed for the description of strongly correlated systems are reviewed together with the examples of response function calculations that are needed for the interpretation of experimental information (inelastic neutron scattering, optical conductivity, resonant inelastic X-ray scattering, electron energy loss spectroscopy, angle-resolved photoemission, electron spin resonance, and magnetic and magnetoelectric properties). The peculiarities of (quasi-) 0-, 1-, 2-, and 3- dimensional systems are discussed.

Crystal field coefficients for yttrium analogues of rare-earth/transition-metal magnets using density-functional theory in the projector-augmented wave formalism

We present a method of calculating crystal field coefficients of rare-earth/transition-metal (RE-TM) magnets within density-functional theory (DFT). The principal idea of the method is to calculate the crystal field potential of the yttrium analogue ('Y-analogue') of the RE-TM magnet, i.e. the material where the lanthanide elements have been substituted with yttrium. The advantage of dealing with Y-analogues is that the methodological and conceptual difficulties associated with treating the highly-localized 4f  electrons in DFT are avoided, whilst the nominal valence electronic structure principally responsible for the crystal field is preserved. In order to correctly describe the crystal field potential in the core region of the atoms we use the projector-augmented wave formalism of DFT, which allows the reconstruction of the full charge density and electrostatic potential. The Y-analogue crystal field potentials are combined with radial 4f  charge densities obtained in self-interaction-corrected calculations on the lanthanides to obtain crystal field coefficients. We demonstrate our method on a test set of ten materials comprising nine RE-TM magnets and elemental Tb. We show that the calculated easy directions of magnetization agree with experimental observations, including a correct description of the anisotropy within the basal plane of Tb and NdCo₅. We further show that the Y-analogue calculations generally agree quantitatively with previous calculations using the open-core approximation to treat the 4f  electrons, and argue that our simple approach may be useful for large-scale computational screening of new magnetic materials.

Magnetic properties and magnetocrystalline anisotropy of Nd2Fe17, Nd2Fe17X3, and related compounds

The electronic and magnetic properties of Nd₂Fe₁₇ and Nd₂Fe₁₇X₃ (X = C or N) compounds have been calculated using the first-principles density functional calculations. Among these, the nitrogen and carbon interstitial compounds exhibit all of the required properties such as a saturation moment of 1.6 T, Curie temperature of 700–750 K, however easy magnetic axis lies in the planar direction making them less attractive for permanent magnet applications. The calculated magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy is found to be −2.7 MJ/m³ for Nd₂Fe₁₇C₃ and −4.7 MJ/m³ for Nd₂Fe₁₇N₃. We further explored the possibility of changing the easy axis direction through La/Ce alloying at Nd site. Although the MAE is found to be smaller in magnitude for all the La/Ce alloys it still maintains planar direction.

Crystal field and magnetism of Pr³⁺ and Nd³⁺ ions in orthorhombic perovskites

Fifteen parameters characterizing the crystal field of rare-earth ions in the RMO3 perovskites (R=Pr, Nd, M=Ga, Co) are calculated using a first-principles electronic structure and the Wannier projection. The method contains a single adjustable parameter that characterizes the hybridization of R(4f) states with the states of oxygen ligands. Subsequently the energy levels and magnetic moments of the trivalent R ion are determined by diagonalization of an effective Hamiltonian which, besides the crystal field, contains the 4f electron-electron repulsion, spin-orbit coupling and interaction with magnetic field. In the Ga compounds the energy levels of the ground multiplet agree within a few meV with those determined experimentally by other authors. For all four compounds in question the temperature dependence of magnetic susceptibility is measured on polycrystalline samples and compared with the results of calculation. For NdGaO3 the theory is also compared with the magnetic measurements on a single crystal presented by Luis et al (1998 Phys. Rev. B 58 798). Good agreement between the experiment and theory is found.