Abstract
A type of theory capable of reconciling the localized- and itinerant-electron models of a ferromagnetic metal is discussed. This kind of theory contemplates a distribution of "exchange field" configurations which correspond very roughly to the spin configurations of the localized model. Computations involve thermal averages over these configurations, each configuration having an effective energy . Starting from the band structure for ferromagnetic iron, the have been estimated for certain configurations . The results are reasonably consistent with the observed Curie temperature of iron, in spite of the presence of exchange fields ∼1-2 eV, and give some suggestion of behavior characteristic of the Heisenberg model.
- Received 28 August 1978
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.19.2626
©1979 American Physical Society