Spin-flip and domain wall magnetoresistance in quantum magnetic nanocontacts

Abstract

The theory of nanosize point contacts made of ferromagnetic metals is developed. A general quantum scattering theory is applied to calculate magnetoresistance of a nanocontact with a domain wall located in the constriction. The exact solution of the electron motion in a potential of the linear domain wall is used as a zero-order approximation. Spin-flip and spin-conserving quantized conductances of the nanocontact are calculated by the perturbation theory by the difference between the model and the Cabrera-Falicov potentials of the domain wall. It is explicitly shown that spin-flip conductance imposes natural limitation on magnetoresistance of the point contact, which otherwise diverges in the regime of complete spin-rectified conductance through the contact. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.