Second-Order Perturbation Formula for Magnetocrystalline Anisotropy Using Orbital Angular Momentum Matrix

Abstract

We derive a second-order perturbation formula for an electronic system subject to spin–orbit interactions (SOI). The energy correction originates in the spin-conserving and the spin-flip transitions. The former are represented by the orbital angular momentum (OAM) acquired via the SOI. The latter come from the quantum fluctuation effect. By using our formula, we examine the relativistic electronic structures of a d orbital chain and L10 alloys. The appearance of OAM in the chain is understood by using a parabolic-bands model and the exact expressions of the single-particle states. The total energy is found to be accurately reproduced by the formula. The self-consistent fully relativistic first-principles calculations based on the density functional theory are performed for five L10 alloys. It is found that the formula reproduces qualitatively the behavior of their exact magnetocrystalline anisotropy (MCA) energies. While the MCA of FePt, CoPt, and FePd originates in the spin-conserving transitions, that in MnAl and MnGa originates in the spin-flip contributions. For FePt, CoPt, and FePd, the tendency of the MCA energy with the variation in the lattice constant obeys basically that of the spin-flip contributions. These results indicate that not only the anisotropy of OAM, but also that of spin-flip contributions must be taken into account for the understanding of the MCA of the L10 alloys.