Self-consistent solution for the magnetic exchange interaction mediated by a superconductor.

We theoretically determine the magnetic exchange interaction between two ferromagnets coupled by a superconductor using a tight-binding lattice model. The main purpose of this study is to determine how the self-consistently determined superconducting state influences the exchange interaction and the preferred ground-state of the system, including the role of impurity scattering. We find that the superconducting state eliminates RKKY-like oscillations for a sufficiently large superconducting gap, making the anti-parallel orientation the ground state of the system. Interestingly, the superconducting gap is larger in the parallel configuration than in the anti-parallel configuration, giving a larger superconducting condensation energy, even when the preferred ground state is anti-parallel. We also show that increasing the impurity concentration in the superconductor causes the exchange interaction to decrease, likely due to an increasing localization of the mediating quasiparticles in the superconductor.

Current Control of Magnetism in Two-Dimensional Fe_{3}GeTe_{2}.

The recent discovery of magnetism in two-dimensional van der Waals systems opens the door to discovering exciting physics. We investigate how a current can control the ferromagnetic properties of such materials. Using symmetry arguments, we identify a recently realized system in which the current-induced spin torque is particularly simple and powerful. In Fe_{3}GeTe_{2}, a single parameter determines the strength of the spin-orbit torque for a uniform magnetization. The spin-orbit torque acts as an effective out-of-equilibrium free energy. The contribution of the spin-orbit torque to the effective free energy introduces new in-plane magnetic anisotropies to the system. Therefore, we can tune the system from an easy-axis ferromagnet via an easy-plane ferromagnet to another easy-axis ferromagnet with increasing current density. This finding enables unprecedented control and provides the possibility to study the Berezinskiǐ-Kosterlitz-Thouless phase transition in the 2D XY model and its associated critical exponents.

Electric field control of magnon-induced magnetization dynamics in multiferroics.

We consider theoretically the effect of an inhomogeneous magnetoelectric coupling on the magnon-induced dynamics of a ferromagnet. The magnon-mediated magnetoelectric torque affects both the homogeneous magnetization and magnon-driven domain wall motion. In the domains, we predict a reorientation of the magnetization, controllable by the applied electric field, which is almost an order of magnitude larger than that observed in other physical systems via the same mechanism. The applied electric field can also be used to tune the domain wall speed and direction of motion in a linear fashion, producing domain wall velocities several times the zero field velocity. These results show that multiferroic systems offer a promising arena to achieve low-dissipation magnetization rotation and domain wall motion by exciting spin-waves.