  We present a microscopic theory for magnetization relaxation in metallic
ferromagnets of nanoscopic dimensions that is based on the dynamic spin
response matrix in the presence of spin-orbit coupling. Our approach allows the
calculation of the spin excitation damping rate even for perfectly crystalline
systems, where existing microscopic approaches fail. We demonstrate that the
relaxation properties are not completely determined by the transverse
susceptibility alone, and that the damping rate has a non-negligible frequency
dependence in experimentally relevant situations. Our results indicate that the
standard Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert phenomenology is not always appropriate to
describe spin dynamics of metallic nanostructure in the presence of strong
spin-orbit coupling.
