In this work, Dr. Haraldsen and his collaborators worked to explain the presence of ferromagnetism in a complex oxide heterostructure that should not have that kind of magnetism. Using density functional theory, Drs. Jian-Xin Zhu and Xiao-Dong Wen were able to determine the magnetic energies for various magnetic configurations. Using these energies, Dr. Haraldsen model the configurations and extracted the superexchange couplings between the Fe ions. This analysis showed that the Fe ions at the interface with YBCO produced a ferromagnetic moment. This was then used to explain the magnetic measurements made by Drs. Mi He, C. Panagopoulos, and Elbert E. M. Chia, who used squid magnetometry to investigate the magnetic moment and overall magnetization of various heterostructures.
For further information, please contact J.T. Haraldsen at haraldjt@jmu.edu
