Surface effects in an alternating magnetic superlattice

Abstract

We study surface magnetism in a semi-infinite alternating magnetic superlattice. The spin-1/2 Ising model with alternating exchange constants ${\mathit{J}}_{\mathit{A}}$ and ${\mathit{J}}_{\mathit{B}}$ is used in the mean-field approximation. The effects of surface modification on the magnetic properties are expressed in terms of two types of determinants. The numerical results for the critical exchange constants and the surface transition temperatures are obtained for two types of surface modification.