The impact of renormalization group theory on magnetism

The basic issues of renormalization group (RG) theory, i.e. universality, crossover phenomena, relevant interactions etc. are verified experimentally on magnetic materials. Universality is demonstrated on account of the saturation of the magnetic order parameter for T ↦ 0. Universal means that the deviations with respect to saturation at T=0 can perfectly be described by a power function of absolute temperature with an exponent ε that is independent of spin structure and lattice symmetry. Normally the T ε function holds up to ~0.85T c where crossover to the critical power function occurs. Universality for T ↦ 0 cannot be explained on the basis of the material specific magnon dispersions that are due to atomistic symmetry. Instead, continuous dynamic symmetry has to be assumed. The quasi particles of the continuous symmetry can be described by plane waves and have linear dispersion in all solids. This then explains universality. However, those quasi particles cannot be observed using inelastic neutron scattering. The principle of relevance is demonstrated using the competition between crystal field interaction and exchange interaction as an example. If the ratio of crystal field interaction to exchange interaction is below some threshold value the local crystal field is not relevant under the continuous symmetry of the ordered state and the saturation moment of the free ion is observed for T ↦ 0. Crossover phenomena either between different exponents or between discrete changes of the pre-factor of the T ε function are demonstrated for the spontaneous magnetization and for the heat capacity. Copyright EDP Sciences/Società Italiana di Fisica/Springer-Verlag 2007