  The influence of the spin-orbit coupling on the magnetic structure of
deposited transition metal nanostructure systems has been studied by fully
relativistic electronic structure calculations. The interplay of exchange
coupling and magnetic anisotropy was monitored by studying the corresponding
magnetic torque calculated within ab-initio and model approaches. It is found
that a spin-orbit induced Dzyaloshinski-Moriya interaction can stabilise a
non-collinear spin structure even if there is a pronounced isotropic
ferromagnetic exchange interaction between the magnetic atoms.
