2015/08/31 by W. Töws, G. M. Pastor · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #cond-mat.str-el #cond-mat.mtrl-sci
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.115.217204
published as Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 217204 (2015)
arxiv created 2015/11/04 · arxiv updated 2015/11/25
Exact calculated time evolutions in the framework of a many-electron model of itinerant magnetism provide new insights into the laser-induced ultrafast demagnetization observed in ferromagnetic (FM) transition metal thin films. The interplay between local spin-orbit interactions and interatomic hopping is shown to be at the origin of the observed post-excitation breakdown of FM correlations between highly stable local magnetic moments. The mechanism behind spin- and angular-momentum transfer is revealed from a microscopic perspective by rigorously complying with all fundamental conservation laws. An energy-resolved analysis of the time evolution shows that the efficiency of the demagnetization process reaches almost 100% in the excited states.