Microscopic theory of magnetoresistance in ferromagnetic materials

Abstract: The magnetoresistance (MR) effect, which stems from the spin-exchange coupling between local moments and itinerant electrons in magnetic materials, is a challenging many-body and open-quantum problem. Here, we develop a comprehensive microscopic theory of MR from an open-quantum system perspective. The theory not only predicts the magnetic field and temperature dependencies of MR which are related to spin relaxation time and spin-exchange field but also obtains the universal cosine-square law of anisotropic MR that microscopically elucidates diverse MR effects from the magnon-induced spin flip, anisotropic spin relaxation, and Hanle spin precession of itinerant electrons. Moreover, we reveal fruitful behaviors of the MR effect that enable the simple detection of the microscopic spin-exchange coupling through an electrical approach. Our theory contributes to a deeper understanding of the fundamental physics underlying MR and provides insights for experiments involving magnetic materials.