Phenomenological approach to spin fluctuations in itinerant magnets and superconductors from ab initio calculations

In this thesis I study the interplay between magnetism and superconductivity in itinerant magnets and superconductors. I do this by applying a semiphenomenological method to four representative compounds. In particular I use the discrepancies (whenever present) between density functional theory (DFT) calculations and the experiments in order to construct phenomenological models which explain the magnetic, superconducting and optical properties of four representative systems. I focus my attention on the superconducting and normal state properties of the recently discovered APt3P superconductors, on superconducting hole-doped CuBiSO, on the optical properties of LaFePO and finally on the ferromagnetic-paramagnetic transition of Ni3Al under pressure. At the end I present a new method which aims to describe the effect of spin fluctuations in itinerant magnets and superconductors that can be used to monitor the evolution of the electronic structure from non magnetic to magnetic in systems close to a quantum critical point.