Intrinsic spin relaxation processes in metallic magnetic multilayers

Spin relaxation processes in metallic magnetic nanostructures are reviewed. First a brief review of the phenomenology of magnetic damping is presented using the Landau Lifshitz Gilbert (LLG) equations of motion. It is shown that the Gilbert damping in bulk metallic layers is caused by the spin orbit interaction and itinerant character of 3d and 4s-p electrons. Spin dynamics in magnetic nanostructures acquires an additional nonlocal damping. This means that a part of the magnetic damping is not given by the local Gilbert damping but arises from the proximity to other layers. Spin pumping and spin sink concepts will be introduced and used to describe the interface nonlocal Gilbert damping in magnetic multilayers. The modified LLG equation of motion in magnetic multilayers will be introduced and tested against the ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) data around the accidental crossover of FMR fields. The spin pumping theory will be compared to the early theories introduced in the 1970s for the interpretation of transmission electron spin resonance (TESR) measurements across ferromagnet/normal metal sandwiches.