Quantum Electrodynamics and the Origins of the Exchange, Dipole-Dipole, and Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya Interactions in Itinerant Fermion Systems

It is shown how the exchange interaction, the dipole-dipole interaction, and the Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya interaction between electronic spin-density fluctuations emerge naturally from a field-theoretic framework that couples electrons to the fluctuating electromagnetic potential. Semi-quantitative estimates are given to determine when the dipole-dipole interaction, which is often neglected, needs to be considered, and various applications are discussed, with an emphasis on weak ferromagnets and on helimagnets.