Spin-current probe for phase transition in an insulator
Abstract
Spin fluctuation and transition have always been one of central topics of magnetism and condensed matter science. Experimentally, the spin fluctuation is found transcribed onto scattering intensity in the neutron scattering process, which is represented by dynamical magnetic susceptibility and maximized at phase transitions. Importantly, a neutron carries spin without electric charge, and it can bring spin into a sample without being disturbed by electric energy, although large facilities such as a nuclear reactor is necessary. Here we show that spin pumping, frequently used in nanoscale spintronic devices, provides a desktop micro probe for spin transition; spin current is a flux of spin without an electric charge and its transport reflects spin excitation. We demonstrate detection of antiferromagnetic transition in ultra-thin CoO films via frequency dependent spin-current transmission measurements, which provides a versatile probe for phase transition in an electric manner in minute devices.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1505.03926,
title = {Spin-current probe for phase transition in an insulator},
author = {Zhiyong Qiu and Jia Li and Dazhi Hou and Elke Arenholz and Alpha T. NDiaye and Ali Tan and Ken-ichi Uchida and K. Sato and Satoshi Okamoto and Yaroslav Tserkovnyak and Z. Q. Qiu and Eiji Saitoh},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1505.03926},
year = {2016}
}