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P. Weinberger:
"Anisotropy effects in switching the direction of the magnetization in a spin-valve system with exchange-bias pinning";
Physical Review B, 75 (2007), 0644051 - 0644057.

The electronic, magnetic, and electric transport properties of spin valves of the type
Cu(111)/CoO/Co/Cu/Co/Cu(111) are investigated in terms of the local density functional theory by means
of the fully relativistic screened Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker and the Kubo-Greenwood equation. This investigation
concentrates on anisotropy effects for twisting energies and electric transport perpendicular to the planes
of atoms. It is found that by rotating uniformly the orientation of the magnetization in the free layer with
respect to the one in the pinned layer, for most of the spacer thicknesses considered (14-48 monolayers) the
twisting energy shows strong deviations from a (1−cos !) behavior, while the corresponding sheet resistances
and the magnetoresistance do follow this simple law. Furthermore, it is shown that interdiffusion in the two
atomic layers forming the Co/Cu interfaces is only of maginal importance for anisotropy effects in the twisting
energies; however, it reduces-as to be expected-the magnetoresistance.