Ballistic and diffuse transport through a ferromagnetic domain wall

TL;DR

This paper investigates how electron transport is affected by ferromagnetic domain walls in both ballistic and diffuse regimes, using theoretical models to quantify conductance and resistivity changes.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive theoretical analysis of transport through ferromagnetic domain walls, combining ballistic and diffuse models with new calculations of conductance and resistivity changes.

Findings

Conductance change in ballistic domain walls derived from adiabatic approximation.

Resistivity change in diffuse systems calculated using diagrammatic techniques.

Spin-dependent scattering effects are incorporated into the models.

Abstract

We study transport through ballistic and diffuse ferromagnetic domain walls in a two-band Stoner model with a rotating magnetization direction. For a ballistic domain wall, the change in the conductance due to the domain wall scattering is obtained from an adiabatic approximation valid when the length of the domain wall is much longer than the Fermi wavelength. In diffuse systems, the change in the resistivity is calculated using a diagrammatic technique to the lowest order in the domain wall scattering and taking into account spin-dependent scattering lifetimes and screening of the domain wall potential.