Related papers: The influence of photon angular momentum on ultraf…
Laser-induced ultrafast demagnetization is an important phenomenon that probes arguably ultimate limits of the angular momentum dynamics in solid. Unfortunately, many aspects of the dynamics remain unclear except that the demagnetization…
We study ultrafast magnetization quenching of ferromagnetic iron following excitation by an optical vs a terahertz pump pulse. While the optical pump (photon energy of 3.1 eV) induces a strongly nonthermal electron distribution, terahertz…
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…
We examined the photo-induced dynamics of ferromagnetic Co/Pt thin films demonstrating perpendicular magnetic anisotropy with element specificity using resonant polar magneto-optical Kerr effect measurements at Pt~N${}_{6,7}$ and…
The angular momentum interconversion between electron spin and other type of angular momenta is useful to develop new spintronic functionalities. The conversions from the angular momentum of photon and mechanical rotation to ferromagnetic…
Irradiation with an ultrashort laser pulse can completely destroy the magnetic order of ferromagnetic thin films on the femtosecond timescale. This phenomenon holds great potential for ultrafast spintronics and information processing and is…
A major question in the field of femtosecond laser-induced demagnetization is whereto the angular momentum lost by the electrons is transferred. Recent ultrafast electron diffraction measurements [Tauchert \textit{et al.}, Nature {\bf 602},…
Optical pump-probe techniques are used to generate and measure electron spin polarization in a gallium arsenide epilayer in which the electron spin coherence time exceeds the mode-locked laser repetition period. Resonant spin amplification…
The remagnetization process after ultrafast demagnetization can be described by relaxation mechanisms between the spin, electron, and lattice reservoirs. Thereby, collective spin excitations in form of spin waves and their angular momentum…
Thermally-assisted ultra-fast magnetization reversal in a DC magnetic field for magnetic multilayer thin films with perpendicular anisotropy has been investigated in the time domain using femtosecond laser heating. The experiment is set-up…
In past decades, ultrafast spin dynamics in magnetic systems have been associated with heat deposition from high energy laser pulses, limiting the selective access to spin order. Here we use a long wavelength terahertz pump optical probe…
The femtosecond magnetization dynamics of a thin cobalt film excited with ultrashort laser pulses has been studied using two complementary pump-probe techniques, namely spin-, energy- and time-resolved photoemission and time-resolved…
We follow for the first time the evolution of the spin and orbital angular momentum of a thin Ni film during ultrafast demagnetization, by means of x-ray magnetic circular dichroism. Both components decrease with a 130 +/- 40 fs time…
We theoretically investigate pumping of phonons by the dynamics of a magnetic film into a non-magnetic contact. The enhanced damping due to the loss of energy and angular momentum shows interference patterns as a function of resonance…
Photons carry linear momentum, and spin angular momentum when circularly or elliptically polarized. During light-matter interaction, transfer of linear momentum leads to optical forces, while angular momentum transfer induces optical…
The dynamics of ultrafast demagnetisation in 3$d$ magnets is complicated by the presence of both spin ${\v S}$ and orbital ${\v L}$ angular momentum, with the microscopic mechanism by which the magnetic moment is redistributed to the…
Sub-picosecond magnetisation manipulation via femtosecond optical pumping has attracted wide attention ever since its original discovery in 1996. However, the spatial evolution of the magnetisation is not yet well understood, in part due to…
Identifying the microscopic nature of non-equilibrium energy transfer mechanisms among electronic, spin and lattice degrees of freedom is central for understanding ultrafast phenomena such as manipulating magnetism on the femtosecond…
For nearly a decade, it has been a mystery why the small average number of photons absorbed per atom from an ultrashort laser pulse is able to induce a strong magnetization within a few hundred femtoseconds. Here we resolve this mystery by…
We present time-resolved scanning x-ray microscopy measurements with picosecond photo-excitation via a tailored infrared pump laser at a scanning transmission x-ray microscope. Specifically, we image the laser-induced demagnetization and…