Indirect Exchange Interactions in Metals

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews the indirect exchange interactions in a metal. The indirect interaction in a metal proceeds as follows: The magnetic moment of one nucleus of spin I 1 scatters a conduction electron of spin s by means of the hyperfine interaction between electronic and nuclear magnetic moments, and then the magnetic moment of the second nucleus of spin I 2 sees the scattered electron. The two nuclear moments see each other in this way. When the contact I.s part of the hyperfine interaction is dominant, the indirect exchange is isotropic, of the form I 1 .I 2 . The primary emphasis is on the coupling between two nuclear magnetic moments, and secondary emphasis is on the coupling between the electronic magnetic moments of substitutional paramagnetic ions in a dilute alloy. The primary area is the simpler to handle theoretically; the secondary area is of wider scientific and technological importance because of the application to magnetic order in the rare-earth metals.