Optical manipulation of magnetism holds promise for future ultrafast spintronics, especially with lanthanides and their huge, localized 4f magnetic moments. These moments interact indirectly via the conduction electrons (RKKY exchange), influenced by interatomic orbital overlap, and the conduction electron susceptibility. Here, we study this influence in a series of 4f antiferromagnets, GdT2Si2 (T=Co, Rh, Ir), using ultrafast resonant X-ray diffraction. We observe a twofold increase in ultrafast angular momentum transfer between the materials, originating from modifications in the conduction electron susceptibility, as confirmed by first-principles calculations.
@article{arxiv.2404.12119,
title = {Controlling 4f antiferromagnetic dynamics via itinerant electronic susceptibility},
author = {Sang-Eun Lee and Yoav William Windsor and Daniela Zahn and Alexej Kraiker and Kurt Kummer and Kristin Kliemt and Cornelius Krellner and Christian Schüßler-Langeheine and Niko Pontius and Urs Staub and Denis V. Vyalikh and Arthur Ernst and Laurenz Rettig},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2404.12119},
year = {2024}
}