Spin-Flop Ordering from Frustrated Ferro- and Antiferromagnetic Interactions: A Combined Theoretical and Experimental Study of a $\mathrm{Mn}/\mathrm{Fe}(100)$ Monolayer

TL;DR

This study combines theoretical predictions and experimental measurements to reveal a noncollinear magnetic structure in a Mn/Fe(100) monolayer, highlighting the interplay of frustrated magnetic interactions.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of the magnetic structure using spinor density-functional theory and element-specific spectroscopies, confirming noncollinear order at the interface.

Findings

Theoretical prediction of noncollinear magnetic structure.

Experimental confirmation via XMCD and XMLD.

Excellent agreement between theory and experiment.

Abstract

The occurrence of a noncollinear magnetic structure at a Mn monolayer grown epitaxially on Fe(100) is predicted theoretically, using spinor density-functional theory, and observed experimentally, using x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) and linear dichroism (XMLD) spectroscopies. The combined use of XMCD and XMLD at the Mn-absorption edge allows us to assess the existence of ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic order at the interface, and also to determine the moment orientations with element specificity. The experimental results thus obtained are in excellent agreement with the magnetic structure determined theoretically.