A first-principles based approach to calculating self-diffusion rates in bcc Fe is discussed with particular focus on the magnetic free energy associated with diffusion activation. First, the enthalpies and entropies of vacancy formation and migration in ferromagnetic bcc Fe are calculated from standard density functional theory methods in combination with transition state theory. Next, the shift in diffusion activation energy when going from the ferromagnetic to the paramagnetic state is estimated by averaging over random spin states. Classical and quantum mechanical Monte Carlo simulations within the Heisenberg model are used to study the effect of spin disordering on the vacancy formation and migration free energy. Finally, a quasiempirical model of the magnetic contribution to the diffusion activation free energy is applied in order to connect the current first-principles results to experimental data. The importance of the zero-point magnon energy in modeling of diffusion in bcc Fe is stressed.

• Received 11 June 2015
• Revised 27 September 2015

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.92.184102