Theory of the spin dependence of the inelastic mean free path of electronsin ferromagnetic metals: A model study

We explore the spin dependence of the inelastic mean free path of an excite d electron in a model ferromagnetic metal. The excited electron is assumed to reside in a plane-wave state, while the metal electrons are modeled with in the framework of a one-band Hubbard model. We consider scattering by bot h Stoner excitations and by spin waves, and outline their relative importan ce in various energy ranges. In addition, we explore the dependence of the inelastic mean free path on the number of holes in the spin-polarized energ y bands of the substrate. [S0163-1829(99)11821-6].