Spin waves in ferromagnetic transition metals. II. Iron and its alloys

For pt.I see ibid., vol.15, p.2339 (1985). The formula for the spin-wave stiffness constant D derived in the preceding paper is applied to Fe and its alloys. It is found that D in pure BCC Fe is sensitive to details of the band structure and that hybridisation between d and sp electrons is essential to secure proper stability of the ferromagnetic ground state. Starting with a band structure which gives a value of D for pure Fe in agreement with experiment, the authors use the virtual crystal approximation to calculate the variation of D with composition in alloys of Fe with Ni, Co, Mn, Cr, and V. The agreement with experiment is generally good.