The results of the electronic structure calculations performed on SmN by using the LDA+U method with and without including the spin-orbit coupling are presented. Within the LDA+U approach, a N(2p) band polarization of ≃0.3μB is induced by Sm(4f)-N(2p) hybridization, and a half-metallic ground state is obtained. By including spin-orbit coupling the magnetic structure was shown to be antiferromagnetic of type II, with Sm spin and orbital moments nearly cancelling. This results into a semiconducting ground state, which is in agreement with experimental results.
@article{arxiv.1412.2966,
title = {Magnetism and electronic structure calculation of SmN},
author = {C. Morari and F. Beiuşeanu and I. Di Marco and L. Peters and E. Burzo and S Mican and L. Chioncel},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1412.2966},
year = {2015}
}