Phys. Rev. Lett. Phys. Rev. A Phys. Rev. B Phys. Rev. C Phys. Rev. D Phys. Rev. E Phys. Rev. ST AB Rev. Mod. Phys. Phys. Rev. (Series I) Phys. Rev. Volume: Page/Article:

Phys. Rev. B 57, 5923–5932 (1998)

[Issue 10 – 1 March 1998 ]

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Magnetic superlattices, classical spin chains, and the Frenkel-Kontorova model

Leonardo Trallori

Dipartimento di Fisica dell'Università di Firenze e Sezione INFM di Firenze, Largo Enrico Fermi 2, I-50125 Firenze, Italy

An equivalence between a simple magnetic model subject to an intrinsically nonconvex Heisenberg interaction and a Frenkel-Kontorova-type model is formulated. The magnetic model is able to reproduce the experimental results obtained on Fe/Cr(211) superlattices and for this reason has already attracted theoretical attention. The problem is formulated via a two-dimensional area-preserving map and the effect of the surfaces in the magnetic model, which are introduced by appropriate boundary conditions, is shown to be equivalent to the introduction of a discommensuration in a Frenkel-Kontorova-type chain. Further analogies between the two models are presented. The analysis is used to reconsider and clarify some of the features of the magnetic model and to add some contributions to its phase diagram in the space of parameters.

©1998 The American Physical Society

URL: http://link.aps.org/abstract/PRB/v57/p5923
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.57.5923
PACS: 75.70.-i, 05.20.-y, 03.20.+i

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