Gilbert damping phenomenology for two-sublattice magnets

Abstract

We present a systematic phenomenological description of Gilbert damping in two-sublattice magnets. Our theory covers the full range of materials from ferro- via ferri- to antiferromagnets. Following a Rayleigh dissipation functional approach within a Lagrangian classical field formulation, the theory captures intra- as well as cross-sublattice terms in the Gilbert damping, parametrized by a $2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}2$ matrix. When spin pumping into an adjacent conductor causes dissipation, we obtain the corresponding Gilbert damping matrix in terms of the interfacial spin-mixing conductances. Our model reproduces the experimentally observed enhancement of the ferromagnetic resonance linewidth in a ferrimagnet close to its compensation temperature without requiring an increased Gilbert parameter. It also predicts new contributions to damping in an antiferromagnet and suggests the resonance linewidths as a direct probe of the sublattice asymmetry, which may stem from boundary or bulk.