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Effect of spin-orbit interaction on a magnetic impurity in the vicinity of a surface

L. Szunyogh·G. Zarand·S. Gallego·M. C. Munoz·B. L. Gyorffy
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Abstract

We propose a new mechanism for surface-induced magnetic anisotropy to explain the thickness-dependence of the Kondo resistivity of thin films of dilute magnetic alloys. The surface anisotropy energy, generated by spin-orbit coupling on the magnetic impurity itself, is an oscillating function of the distance d from the surface and decays as 1/d^2. Numerical estimates based on simple models suggest that this mechanism, unlike its alternatives, gives rise to an effect of the desired order of magnitude.

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L. Szunyogh, G. Zarand, S. Gallego, M. C. Munoz, B. L. Gyorffy. 2005-12-07. Effect of spin-orbit interaction on a magnetic impurity in the vicinity of a surface. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.96.067204

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