  Careful first-principles density functional calculations reveal the
importance of hexagonal versus cubic stacking of closed packed planes of Pd as
far as local magnetic properties are concerned. We find that, contrary to the
stable face centered cubic phase, which is paramagnetic, the hexagonal
close-packed phase of Pd is ferromagnetic with a magnetic moment of 0.35
$\mu_{B}$/atom. Our results show that two-dimensional defects with local hcp
stacking, like twin boundaries and stacking faults, in the otherwise fcc Pd
structure, increase the magnetic susceptibility. The (111) surface also
increases the magnetic susceptibility and it becomes ferromagnetic in
combination with an individual stacking fault or twin boundary close to it. On
the contrary, we find that the (100) surface decreases the tendency to
ferromagnetism. The results are consistent with the magnetic moment recently
observed in small Pd nanoparticles, with a large surface area and a high
concentration of two-dimensional stacking defects.
