The effect of grain boundaries on magnetic exchange interactions in iron

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Zelený, Martin, Heczko, Martin, Šesták, Petr, Ledue, Denis, Patte, Renaud, Černý, Miroslav
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2026
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author Zelený, Martin
Heczko, Martin
Šesták, Petr
Ledue, Denis
Patte, Renaud
Černý, Miroslav
author_facet Zelený, Martin
Heczko, Martin
Šesták, Petr
Ledue, Denis
Patte, Renaud
Černý, Miroslav
contents This work investigates how grain boundaries (GBs) modify magnetic exchange interactions in bcc iron, with particular focus on the effect of phosphorus segregation. Using density-functional theory combined with the Liechtenstein-Katsnelson-Antropov-Gubanov Green's-function approach, we calculate Heisenberg exchange parameters for three symmetric tilt GBs, $\Sigma5(310)$, $\Sigma13(510)$, and $\Sigma13(320)$, and use these parameters in Monte Carlo simulations to evaluate finite-temperature magnetic behavior. All clean GBs exhibit strong local deviations from bulk exchange interactions, including antiferromagnetic coupling across the boundary plane. These negative exchange interactions are not governed by interatomic distance alone, but arise primarily from the altered local coordination and symmetry breaking at the GB. Phosphorus segregation, modeled in both substitutional and interstitial configurations at the $\Sigma5(310)$ GB, suppresses the antiferromagnetic couplings and significantly redistributes the local exchange landscape through chemical and electronic effects. Monte Carlo results show that, despite pronounced local perturbations, realistic GB densities cause only a small reduction in the Curie temperature because bulk-like regions dominate the global magnetic transition. A substantial decrease in Curie temperature appears only when the GB volume fraction is artificially increased. The results demonstrate that GBs strongly influence local magnetic interactions while having a limited effect on global magnetic ordering, and they establish a general framework for linking atomistic interfacial structure and chemistry to mesoscale magnetic behavior in Fe-based materials.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_10489
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The effect of grain boundaries on magnetic exchange interactions in iron
Zelený, Martin
Heczko, Martin
Šesták, Petr
Ledue, Denis
Patte, Renaud
Černý, Miroslav
Materials Science
This work investigates how grain boundaries (GBs) modify magnetic exchange interactions in bcc iron, with particular focus on the effect of phosphorus segregation. Using density-functional theory combined with the Liechtenstein-Katsnelson-Antropov-Gubanov Green's-function approach, we calculate Heisenberg exchange parameters for three symmetric tilt GBs, $\Sigma5(310)$, $\Sigma13(510)$, and $\Sigma13(320)$, and use these parameters in Monte Carlo simulations to evaluate finite-temperature magnetic behavior. All clean GBs exhibit strong local deviations from bulk exchange interactions, including antiferromagnetic coupling across the boundary plane. These negative exchange interactions are not governed by interatomic distance alone, but arise primarily from the altered local coordination and symmetry breaking at the GB. Phosphorus segregation, modeled in both substitutional and interstitial configurations at the $\Sigma5(310)$ GB, suppresses the antiferromagnetic couplings and significantly redistributes the local exchange landscape through chemical and electronic effects. Monte Carlo results show that, despite pronounced local perturbations, realistic GB densities cause only a small reduction in the Curie temperature because bulk-like regions dominate the global magnetic transition. A substantial decrease in Curie temperature appears only when the GB volume fraction is artificially increased. The results demonstrate that GBs strongly influence local magnetic interactions while having a limited effect on global magnetic ordering, and they establish a general framework for linking atomistic interfacial structure and chemistry to mesoscale magnetic behavior in Fe-based materials.
title The effect of grain boundaries on magnetic exchange interactions in iron
topic Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.10489