The electrical resistance due to nonmagnetic impurities in ferromagnetic metals

Abstract

We discuss the electrical resistance due to nonmagnetic impurities in ferromagnetic metals. The impurity resistance depends on the magnetization of the host metal since (1) the densities of states of ±spin electrons at the Fermi surface change with the magnetization of a metal, and (2) the screened impurity potential is different for the ±spin electrons and depends on the magnetization of the metal. The effect of the spin dependent screening on the electrical resistance in ferromagnetic metals was not fully considered previously. We choose a single band model for the metallic electrons and obtain an expression for the resistance which includes both of the above mechanisms, (1) and (2), simultaneously and self‐consistently. We calculate the changes in resistivity due to nonmagnetic impurities in a ferromagnetic metal as a function of magnetization.