How to Measure and Model Light-Induced Spin Transfer

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Ryan, Sinéad A., Elhanoty, Mohamed F., Grafov, Anya, Johnsen, Peter C., Li, Na, Shaw, Justin M., Delin, Anna, Markou, Anastasios, Lesne, Edouard, Felser, Claudia, Eriksson, Olle, Delczeg-Czirjak, Erna K., Karmakar, Debjani, Kapteyn, Henry C., Grånäs, Oscar, Murnane, Margaret M.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Ryan, Sinéad A.
Elhanoty, Mohamed F.
Grafov, Anya
Johnsen, Peter C.
Li, Na
Shaw, Justin M.
Delin, Anna
Markou, Anastasios
Lesne, Edouard
Felser, Claudia
Eriksson, Olle
Delczeg-Czirjak, Erna K.
Karmakar, Debjani
Kapteyn, Henry C.
Grånäs, Oscar
Murnane, Margaret M.
author_facet Ryan, Sinéad A.
Elhanoty, Mohamed F.
Grafov, Anya
Johnsen, Peter C.
Li, Na
Shaw, Justin M.
Delin, Anna
Markou, Anastasios
Lesne, Edouard
Felser, Claudia
Eriksson, Olle
Delczeg-Czirjak, Erna K.
Karmakar, Debjani
Kapteyn, Henry C.
Grånäs, Oscar
Murnane, Margaret M.
contents Femtosecond laser light can transfer spin angular momentum between magnetic subspecies that exhibit hybridized valence bands within an alloy or compound, and represents the fastest route for manipulating the magnetization of a material. To date, ultrafast spin transfer has predominantly been explained in terms of the initial and final states available for laser excitation. Here, by comparing the measured and calculated dynamics across the entire $M$-edges of two very similar Heusler compounds, $Co_2MnGa$ and $Co_2MnGe$ as well as a sample of elemental Co, we find that simply accounting for the initial and final electron states available for laser excitation cannot alone explain the experimental observations. The influence of spin lifetimes must also be included, due to the shifting of the Fermi level upon replacing Ga with Ge, or the presence of crystalline disorder. This explains why the ordered $L2_1$ phase of $Co_2MnGa$ demonstrates strong laser-induced magnetic signal enhancements across the entire Co-edge, while similar enhancements were not observed in partially disordered $Co_2MnGe$. Although intra-site spin-transfers were expected in the minority channel in pure Co due to the presence of many more available states in the minority channel above the Fermi level, no such signal was observed due to very short few-femtosecond spin lifetimes in a metal. Finally, we identify key regions in the magnetic asymmetry where a transiently enhanced signal could be misinterpreted as a light-induced spin-transfer signature.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2501_12416
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle How to Measure and Model Light-Induced Spin Transfer
Ryan, Sinéad A.
Elhanoty, Mohamed F.
Grafov, Anya
Johnsen, Peter C.
Li, Na
Shaw, Justin M.
Delin, Anna
Markou, Anastasios
Lesne, Edouard
Felser, Claudia
Eriksson, Olle
Delczeg-Czirjak, Erna K.
Karmakar, Debjani
Kapteyn, Henry C.
Grånäs, Oscar
Murnane, Margaret M.
Materials Science
Femtosecond laser light can transfer spin angular momentum between magnetic subspecies that exhibit hybridized valence bands within an alloy or compound, and represents the fastest route for manipulating the magnetization of a material. To date, ultrafast spin transfer has predominantly been explained in terms of the initial and final states available for laser excitation. Here, by comparing the measured and calculated dynamics across the entire $M$-edges of two very similar Heusler compounds, $Co_2MnGa$ and $Co_2MnGe$ as well as a sample of elemental Co, we find that simply accounting for the initial and final electron states available for laser excitation cannot alone explain the experimental observations. The influence of spin lifetimes must also be included, due to the shifting of the Fermi level upon replacing Ga with Ge, or the presence of crystalline disorder. This explains why the ordered $L2_1$ phase of $Co_2MnGa$ demonstrates strong laser-induced magnetic signal enhancements across the entire Co-edge, while similar enhancements were not observed in partially disordered $Co_2MnGe$. Although intra-site spin-transfers were expected in the minority channel in pure Co due to the presence of many more available states in the minority channel above the Fermi level, no such signal was observed due to very short few-femtosecond spin lifetimes in a metal. Finally, we identify key regions in the magnetic asymmetry where a transiently enhanced signal could be misinterpreted as a light-induced spin-transfer signature.
title How to Measure and Model Light-Induced Spin Transfer
topic Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.12416