Atomic structure and magnetic properties of Fe1–xCox alloys

Abstract

Using genetic algorithm with first-principle calculations, we searched for low-energy crystal structures of Fe1−xCox alloys. We found that Fe1−xCox alloys are highly configurationally degenerate with many additional off-stoichiometric stable structures to the well-known B2 structure. The average magnetic moment of Fe atom increases with concentration of Co in the alloy, while that of Co atom is almost constant, which are consistent with experiments and earlier studies. The magnetic moment of Fe atom is strongly dependent on the number of Co nearest neighbor and it increases with this number.