Current-induced switching and magnetoresistance of noncollinear bulk magnetic structures

In our work, we theoretically demonstrated the possibility to control magnetic configurations and magnetoresistance of a wide class of magnetically frustrated materials with applied voltages. This phenomenon may be viewed as the bulk material counterpart of spin-transfer torque and may represent a critical interest both from applications and fundamental points of view. It is shown that the magnetic configuration of bulk magnets strongly depends on position of the Fermi level and applied voltage. We propose this phenomenon for future experimental studies suggesting materials with a strong variation in density of states near the Fermi level for different magnetic configurations.

Figure 1

(Color online) (a) “4in,” (b) “3in1out,” and (c) “2in2out” configurations for square lattice.

Figure 2

(Color online) (a) and (b) Total energy as a function of applied voltage for $E_F=-2\text{eV}$ and $E_F=-2.5\text{eV}$, respectively, shown by arrows in Fig. 3.

Figure 3

(Color online) Total density of states for “4in” (solid), “3in1out” (dotted), and “2in2out” (dashed) configurations represented in Fig. 1.

Figure 4

(Color online) Conductance as a function of the Fermi level for configurations represented in Fig. 1.