Magnetic properties of Co clusters deposited on Pt(111) and Au(111)

The fully relativistic KKR method has been applied within the framework of spin density functional theory (SDFT) to calculate the electronic and magnetic properties of Co clusters deposited on a Pt(111) and a Au(111) surface, respectively. The influence of spin-orbit coupling on the formation and orientation of the magnetic moments, the central issue of our investigations, was studied for clusters of different size and shape. The results have been complemented by calculations of the exchange coupling parameters J(jj) which have been used within Monte Carlo simulations on the basis of the extended classical Heisenberg-Hamiltonian. This allowed simulation of the magnetic properties at finite temperatures, which are of central importance for technical applications of magnetic clusters.