7.

4 Stoner Model 355

that UP(CF)> 1 but UP(Q) - 1 is small. Since U p ( q ) - 1 sets the

scale of both the ground state magnetization m(T = 0) and the Curie
temperature Tc , we can use an expansion in powers of U ~ ( E - F 1) (see
Problem 7.3) to describe the properties of the so-called weak itinerant
ferromagnets. In this context, “weak” means that m(T = 0) (< n,
i.e., the magnetization is much smaller than the largest value14 which
the given number of electrons could support. It also implies Tc << T F ,
TFbeing the Fermi temperature. A good example is the ordered alloy
ZrZn2 (see p. 396) which is all the more remarkable because neither of its
constituents is, in itself, magnetic. The more strongly interacting iron
group elements should be thought of in terms of the finite-m criterion
for which the precise location of CF is not so relevant.
The mean field theory can be extended to finite temperatures. For
U > UE,one gets15 the following criterion for the Curie temperature

(7.25)

If we choose parameters which give the right size of the T = 0 magnetic

moment for, say, Fe then we find that Tc is overestimated by a factor
of N 5. The essential reason for the discrepancy is that mean field
theory grossly underestimates the entropy of the paramagnetic metal:
it considers only the entropy coming from electron-hole excitations but
neglects the fact that disordered moments exist also above TC and this
is associated with a high spin entropy. For the low-Tc weak itinerant
ferromagnets, the discrepancy should be smaller.
If U is somewhat smaller than U z then the exchange enhancement
factor is large and we expect to see a nearly ferromagnetic metal with
14Forleas than half filling, the largest value belongs to full polarization. For a more
than half-filled band, the largest magnetization is obtained by filling the majority
band completely, and putting the rest of the electrons in the minority band. We can
say that the polarization of a weak ferromagnet is limited by the weakness of the
interaction; in contrast, the polarization of a strong ferromagnet (such as the iron
group elements) is limited by the band filling. - This is one of the ways in which the
terms ‘’weak”and “strong” are used. There is also a different usage: one may call a

-
ferromagnet strong, if the majority band is full. In this latter sense, iron is a weak
ferromagnet because ndf 4.37 and n d l N 2.14.
“It will be derived as (7.46).