Ab initio study of GdCo₅ magnetic and magneto-optical properties

The full potential linearized augmented plane wave method (FLAPW) including the spin-orbit coupling has been used to study the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of GdCo₅ compound. The calculations were performed within the local spin density approximation (LSDA) as well as Coulomb corrected LSDA + U approach. The study revealed that the LSDA + U method gave a better representation of the band structure, density of states and magnetic moments than LSDA. It was found that the spin magnetic moment of Co (2c) and Co (3g) atoms in the studied compound is smaller compared to the one in bulk Co. The optical and magneto-optical properties and the magneto-optical Kerr effect have also been investigated.