Spin-Flip Diffusion Length in 5d Transition Metal Elements: A First-Principles Benchmark.

Little is known about the spin-flip diffusion length l_{sf}, one of the most important material parameters in the field of spintronics. We use a density-functional-theory based scattering approach to determine values of l_{sf} that result from electron-phonon scattering as a function of temperature for all 5d transition metal elements. l_{sf} does not decrease monotonically with the atomic number Z but is found to be inversely proportional to the density of states at the Fermi level. By using the same local current methodology to calculate the spin Hall angle Θ_{sH} that characterizes the efficiency of the spin Hall effect, we show that the products ρ(T)l_{sf}(T) and Θ_{sH}(T)l_{sf}(T) are constant.