Temperature dependence of the magnetization of nickel

Abstract

The magnetization of a single-crystal nickel sample has been measured between 4 and 300 K in applied fields up to 13.5 kOe. The results are shown to fit spin-wave theory, but the numerical values of the spin-wave stiffness constants obtained are not in agreement with neutron-determined values. The discrepancy appears to be associated with a contribution to the temperature dependence of the magnetization from Stoner single-particle excitations; this contribution is found to be as large as the spin-wave term.