Thermal Expansion Due to Magneto-Volume Effect in Ferromagnetic Metals

Abstract

One of the most important consequences of the recent theory of itinerant electron magnetism is that the average squared amplitude of the local spin density S_L ² varies generally with temperature depending on the band structure, the electron occupation and the relative strength of the exchange interaction [1]. Below the Curie temperature T_C, S_L ² usually decreases with increasing temperature while it increases with temperature above T_C. This temperature variation can be quite significant in many cases and reflects itself in the thermal expansion.