Calculation of magnon drag force induced by an electric current in ferromagnetic metals

TL;DR

This paper provides a microscopic theoretical analysis of the magnon drag force caused by electric currents in ferromagnetic metals, highlighting the dominant scattering contribution over emission/absorption across various temperatures.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed microscopic calculation showing the dominance of magnon scattering over emission/absorption in magnon drag effects in ferromagnetic metals.

Findings

Magnon scattering dominates magnon drag force in good metals.

Emission/absorption processes are suppressed by a factor related to electron spin flip.

The study discusses implications for spin-transfer efficiency.

Abstract

Magnon drag effect induced by an applied electric field in ferromagnetic metals is theoretically studied by a microscopic calculation of the force on magnons arising from magnon emission/absorption and scattering due to driven electrons. It is shown that magnon scattering contribution dominates over the emission/absorption one in a wide temperature regime in good metals with long elastic lifetime $\taue$, as the latter has a relative suppression factor of $(\Deltasd\taue)^{-2}$ due to the electron spin flip by the magnon, where $\Deltasd$ is the $sd$ exchange interaction energy. Spin-transfer efficiency is discussed including the magnon drag effect.