Influence of magnetic fields on the spin reorientation transition in ultra-thin films

TL;DR

This paper investigates how external magnetic fields influence the spin reorientation transition in ultra-thin ferromagnetic films, revealing that certain transitions persist despite applied fields, with phase diagrams derived via mean field theory.

Contribution

It provides a theoretical analysis of the magnetic field effects on spin reorientation transitions using mean field calculations for the classical Heisenberg model.

Findings

Spin reorientation transition is not fully suppressed by external magnetic fields.

Magnetization perpendicular to the applied field can show spontaneous order.

Phase diagrams illustrate the dependence of transitions on field orientation and temperature.

Abstract

The dependence of the spin reorientation transition in ultra-thin ferromagnetic films on external magnetic fields is studied. For different orientations of the applied field with respect to the film, phase diagrams are calculated within a mean field theory for the classical Heisenberg model. In particular we find that the spin reorientation transition present in this model is not suppressed completely by an applied field, as the magnetization component perpendicular to the field may show spontaneous order in a certain temperature interval.