Magnetism: from fundamentals to nanoscale dynamics

Abstract

With the present book we intend to give an account of the historical development, the physical foundations and the continuing research underlying the field of magnetism, one of the oldest and still vital field of physics. Our book is written as a text book for students on the late undergraduate and the graduate levels. It should also be of interest to scientists in academia and research laboratories. Throughout history, magnetism has played an important role in the development of civilization, starting with the loadstone compass. Our modern society would be unthinkable without the generation and utilization of electricity, wireless communication at the speed of light and the modern hightech magnetic devices used in information technology. Despite the existence of many books on the topic, we felt the need for a text book that reviews the fundamental physical concepts and uses them in a coherent fashion to explain some of the forefront problems and applications today. Besides covering the classical concepts of magnetism we give a thorough review of the quantum aspects of magnetism, starting with the discovery of the spin in the 1920s. We discuss the exciting developments in magnetism research and technology spawned by the computer revolution in the late 1950s and the more recent paradigm shift starting around 1990 associated with spin-based electronics or “spintronics”. The field of spintronics was largely triggered by the discovery of the giant magnetoresistance or GMR effect around 1988. It utilizes the electron spin to sense, carry or manipulate information and has thus moved the quantum mechanical concept of the electron spin from its discovery in the 1920s to a cornerstone of modern technology. These historical and modern developments in magnetism are discussed against the background of the development and utilization of spin-polarized electron techniques and polarized photon techniques, the specialties of the authors. It is believed that the technological application of magnetism will continue with a growth rate close to Moore’s law for years to come. Interestingly, the magnetic technology goals of “smaller and faster” are matched by “brighter and faster” X-ray sources, which are increasingly used in contemporary magnetism research. Novel ultra-bright X-ray sources with femtosecond pulse lengths will provide us with snapshots of the invisible ultrafast magnetic nanoworld. These exciting developments are another reason for the present book. Last not least, this book is born out of our passion for the subjects discussed in it. In the process we had to get to the bottom of many things and understand them better or for the first time. This process took a deep commitment and much time, with “the book” often preoccupying our minds. The process was greatly aided by discussions with our colleagues and students and we would like to thank them at this place. In particular, we need to thank Ioan Tudosa for his critical comments and for helping us with numerous illustrations. In this book we give an account of the field of magnetism that is colored by personal taste and our way of looking at things. We hope that you will enjoy the result.