The Range of Ferromagnetic Exchange Interactions

Abstract

Experimental investigations on the characteristic length over which two magnetic atoms interact in a nonmagnetic metal have been carried out. Two methods are used: (a) measurement of the transition temperature as a function of the magnetic atom concentration in zero field, and (b) study of the magnetization distribution in alloys in the region just below the transition temperature as determined from the magnetic hyperfine field distribution. These experiments have been done using palladium as the nonmagnetic and iron as the magnetic atoms. In the FePd alloys it is found that the transition temperature and the nature of the magnetic transition depend strongly on the method of sample preparation and in particular on the annealing of the samples. Samples quenched from the melt to room temperature show a diffuse transition and a relatively slow rise in magnetization with decreasing temperature. Those which have been annealed show a relatively sharp transition and a narrower magnetization distribution below the transition temperature, indicating that the process of annealing produces a more homogeneous distribution of the iron atoms. Interpretation of this phenomenon and its relation to the range parameter are discussed. Assuming that the magnetic interaction between two iron atoms is due to the overlap of the matrix polarization, the range obtained in this investigation from a simple statistical model is in excellent accord with neutron diffraction measurements.