New calculations of Gilbert damping in ferromagnetic transition metals

Calculations of the Gilbert damping parameter alpha for bulk Ni are presented as a function of the spin-dependent Lorentzian broadening of the one-electron states. The Kambersky formula for alpha is used, correctly restricted to second order in the spin-orbit parameter so that intra band terms are suppressed, and the spin-dependent broadening is deduced from the recent calculations of electron lifetimes due to electron-phonon scattering by Carva et al. The calculated value of alpha for Ni at room temperature is in reasonable agreement with experiment.