Related papers: All-optical non-linear chiral ultrafast magnetizat…
Ultrafast control of magnetization on the nanometer length scale, in particular all-optical switching, is key to putting ultrafast magnetism on the path towards future technological application in data storage technology. However,…
Chirality causes symmetry breaks in a large variety of natural phenomena ranging from particle physics to biochemistry. We investigate one of the simplest conceivable chiral systems, a laser-excited, oriented, effective one-electron Li…
The ability to manipulate ferroelectrics at ultrafast speeds has long been an elusive target for materials research. Coherently exciting the ferroelectric mode with ultrashort optical pulses holds the promise to switch the ferroelectric…
The parallel or antiparallel arrangement of electron spins plays a pivotal role in determining the properties of a physical system. To meet the demands for innovative technological solutions, extensive efforts have been dedicated to…
Here we consider the magnetization dynamics in ferromagnetic nanoparticles or films driven by external magnetic field pulses directed transverse to the initial equilibrium state. The excitation pulse drives large-angle ultra-fast…
Based on nonlinear optics, we develop a band theory to elucidate how light could manipulate magnetization, which is rooted by the quantum geometric structure and topological nature of electronic wavefunctions. Their existence are determined…
Femtosecond laser excitation of materials that exhibit magnetic spin textures promises advanced magnetic control via the generation of ultrafast and non-equilibrium spin dynamics. We explore such possibilities in ferrimagnetic [Fe(0.35…
We introduce an ultrafast all-optical approach for efficient chiral recognition which relies on the interference between two low-order nonlinear processes which are ubiquitous in nonlinear optics: sum-frequency generation and third-harmonic…
Magnetic phenomena are ubiquitous in our surroundings and indispensable for modern science and technology, but it is notoriously difficult to change the magnetic order of a material in a rapid way. However, if a thin nickel film is…
Femtosecond magneto-optical pump-probe measurements of ultrafast demagnetization show an intriguing difference in the first 100 fs of the magneto-optical Kerr response depending on whether the polarization of the pump and probe beams are in…
With the feature of low-power magnetization manipulation at an ultrashort time scale, all optical switching (AOS) has been propelled to the forefront in investigations. To further speed up the magnetization reversal by manipulating…
We show that circularly polarized femtosecond laser pulses produce field-free alignment in linear and planar molecules. We study the rotational wavepacket evolution of O$_2$ and benzene created by circularly polarized light. For benzene, we…
Structured light provides unique opportunities to spatially tailor the electromagnetic field of laser beams. This includes the possibility of a sub-wavelength spatial separation of their electric and magnetic fields, which would allow…
All-optical magnetic switching promises ultrafast, high-resolution magnetisation control with the technological attraction of requiring no magnetic field. Existing all-optical switching schemes are driven by ultrafast transient effects,…
We present a mechanism by which optically driven chiral phonon modes in rare-earth trihalides generate giant effective magnetic fields acting on the paramagnetic $4f$ spins. With cerium trichloride (CeCl$_3$) as our example system, we…
It has recently been suggested that two counter-propagating, circularly polarized, ultra-intense lasers can induce a strong electron spin polarization at the magnetic node of the electromagnetic field that they setup. We confirm these…
Optical pump-probe setups are commonly used for excitation and investigation of the spin dynamics in various types of magnetic materials. However, usually the spatially homogeneous excitation is considered. In the present study we describe…
The recently discovered altermagnets exhibit collinear magnetic order with zero net magnetization but with unconventional spin-polarized d/g/i-wave band structures, expanding the known paradigms of ferromagnets and antiferromagnets. In…
Ultrafast demagnetization of magnetic layers pumped by a femtosecond laser pulse is accompanied by a nonthermal spin-polarized current of hot electrons. These spin currents are studied here theoretically in a spin valve with noncollinear…
We propose an ultrafast way to generate spin chirality and spin current in a class of multiferroic magnets using a terahertz circularly polarized laser. Using the Floquet formalism for periodically driven systems, we show that it is…