Gilbert damping of ferromagnetic metals incorporating inhomogeneous spin dynamics

The effects of inhomogeneous spin dynamics on magnetic damping in ferromagnetic metals are studied. On the basis of linear response theory, we derive the microscopic expression for the Gilbert damping term in a two-dimensional electron gas interacting with the magnetization via exchange coupling in the presence of Rashba spin-orbit coupling (SOC). In the spin wave propagating with the wave vector, q, the behavior of q-dependent damping can be explained in terms of both inter- and intra-band spin excitations. The spatially dependent damping torques originating from Rashba SOC that cancel out in a uniform precession system distort the circular orbit of a magnetization-precession trajectory in the presence of inhomogeneous spin dynamics.