| 1. |
- Gray, A. X., et al.
(author)
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Ultrafast terahertz field control of electronic and structural interactions in vanadium dioxide
- 2018
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In: Physical Review B. - : AMER PHYSICAL SOC. - 2469-9950 .- 2469-9969. ; 98:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Vanadium dioxide (VO2), an archetypal correlated-electron material, undergoes an insulator-metal transition near room temperature that exhibits electron-correlation-driven and structurally driven physics. Using ultrafast temperature- and fluence-dependent optical spectroscopy and x-ray scattering, we show that multiple interrelated electronic and structural processes in the nonequilibrium dynamics in VO2 can be disentangled in the time domain. Specifically, following intense subpicosecond terahertz (THz) electric-field excitation, a partial collapse of the insulating gap occurs within the first picosecond. At temperatures sufficiently close to the transition temperature and for THz peak fields above a threshold of approximately 1 MV/cm, this electronic reconfiguration initiates a change in lattice symmetry taking place on a slower timescale. We identify the kinetic energy increase of electrons tunneling in the strong electric field as the driving force, illustrating a promising method to control electronic and structural interactions in correlated materials on an ultrafast timescale.
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| 2. |
- Iacocca, Ezio, 1986, et al.
(author)
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Spin-current-mediated rapid magnon localisation and coalescence after ultrafast optical pumping of ferrimagnetic alloys
- 2019
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In: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723 .- 2041-1723. ; 10:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- 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 the difficulty in experimentally probing such rapid dynamics. Here, we find evidence of a universal rapid magnetic order recovery in ferrimagnets with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy via nonlinear magnon processes. We identify magnon localisation and coalescence processes, whereby localised magnetic textures nucleate and subsequently interact and grow in accordance with a power law formalism. A hydrodynamic representation of the numerical simulations indicates that the appearance of noncollinear magnetisation via optical pumping establishes exchange-mediated spin currents with an equivalent 100% spin polarised charge current density of 10 7 A cm −2 . Such large spin currents precipitate rapid recovery of magnetic order after optical pumping. The magnon processes discussed here provide new insights for the stabilization of desired meta-stable states.
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| 3. |
- Reid, A. H., et al.
(author)
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Beyond a phenomenological description of magnetostriction
- 2018
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In: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Magnetostriction, the strain induced by a change in magnetization, is a universal effect in magnetic materials. Owing to the difficulty in unraveling its microscopic origin, it has been largely treated phenomenologically. Here, we show how the source of magnetostriction-the underlying magnetoelastic stress-can be separated in the time domain, opening the door for an atomistic understanding. X-ray and electron diffraction are used to separate the subpicosecond spin and lattice responses of FePt nanoparticles. Following excitation with a 50-fs laser pulse, time-resolved X-ray diffraction demonstrates that magnetic order is lost within the nanoparticles with a time constant of 146 fs. Ultrafast electron diffraction reveals that this demagnetization is followed by an anisotropic, three-dimensional lattice motion. Analysis of the size, speed, and symmetry of the lattice motion, together with ab initio calculations accounting for the stresses due to electrons and phonons, allow us to reveal the magnetoelastic stress generated by demagnetization.
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| 4. |
- Vodungbo, Boris, et al.
(author)
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Indirect excitation of ultrafast demagnetization.
- 2016
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In: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Does the excitation of ultrafast magnetization require direct interaction between the photons of the optical pump pulse and the magnetic layer? Here, we demonstrate unambiguously that this is not the case. For this we have studied the magnetization dynamics of a ferromagnetic cobalt/palladium multilayer capped by an IR-opaque aluminum layer. Upon excitation with an intense femtosecond-short IR laser pulse, the film exhibits the classical ultrafast demagnetization phenomenon although only a negligible number of IR photons penetrate the aluminum layer. In comparison with an uncapped cobalt/palladium reference film, the initial demagnetization of the capped film occurs with a delayed onset and at a slower rate. Both observations are qualitatively in line with energy transport from the aluminum layer into the underlying magnetic film by the excited, hot electrons of the aluminum film. Our data thus confirm recent theoretical predictions.
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