21,012 research outputs found
Is perpendicular magnetic anisotropy essential to all-optical ultrafast spin reversal in ferromagnets?
All-optical spin reversal presents a new opportunity for spin manipulations,
free of a magnetic field. Most of all-optical-spin-reversal ferromagnets are
found to have a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA), but it has been
unknown whether PMA is necessary for the spin reversal. Here we theoretically
investigate magnetic thin films with either PMA or in-plane magnetic anisotropy
(IMA). Our results show that the spin reversal in IMA systems is possible, but
only with a longer laser pulse and within a narrow laser parameter region. The
spin reversal does not show a strong helicity dependence where the left- and
right-circularly polarized light lead to the identical results. By contrast,
the spin reversal in PMA systems is robust, provided both the spin angular
momentum and laser field are strong enough while the magnetic anisotropy itself
is not too strong. This explains why experimentally the majority of all-optical
spin-reversal samples are found to have strong PMA and why spins in Fe
nanoparticles only cant out of plane. It is the laser-induced spin-orbit torque
that plays a key role in the spin reversal. Surprisingly, the same spin-orbit
torque results in laser-induced spin rectification in spin-mixed configuration,
a prediction that can be tested experimentally. Our results clearly point out
that PMA is essential to the spin reversal, though there is an opportunity for
in-plane spin reversal.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figures and one tabl
Searching for high- isomers in the proton-rich mass region
Configuration-constrained potential-energy-surface calculations have been
performed to investigate the isomerism in the proton-rich mass
region. An abundance of high- states are predicted. These high- states
arise from two and four-quasi-particle excitations, with and
, respectively. Their excitation energies are comparatively
low, making them good candidates for long-lived isomers. Since most nuclei
under studies are prolate spheroids in their ground states, the oblate shapes
of the predicted high- states may indicate a combination of isomerism
and shape isomerism
Switching ferromagnetic spins by an ultrafast laser pulse: Emergence of giant optical spin-orbit torque
Faster magnetic recording technology is indispensable to massive data storage
and big data sciences. {All-optical spin switching offers a possible solution},
but at present it is limited to a handful of expensive and complex rare-earth
ferrimagnets. The spin switching in more abundant ferromagnets may
significantly expand the scope of all-optical spin switching. Here by studying
40,000 ferromagnetic spins, we show that it is the optical spin-orbit torque
that determines the course of spin switching in both ferromagnets and
ferrimagnets. Spin switching occurs only if the effective spin angular momentum
of each constituent in an alloy exceeds a critical value. Because of the strong
exchange coupling, the spin switches much faster in ferromagnets than
weakly-coupled ferrimagnets. This establishes a paradigm for all-optical spin
switching. The resultant magnetic field (65 T) is so big that it will
significantly reduce high current in spintronics, thus representing the
beginning of photospintronics.Comment: 12 page2, 6 figures. Accepted to Europhysics Letters (2016). Extended
version with the supplementary information. Contribution from Indiana State
University,Europhysics Letters (2016
First-principles and model simulation of all-optical spin reversal
All-optical spin switching is a potential trailblazer for information storage
and communication at an unprecedented fast rate and free of magnetic fields.
However, the current wisdom is largely based on semiempirical models of
effective magnetic fields and heat pulses, so it is difficult to provide
high-speed design protocols for actual devices. Here, we carry out a massively
parallel first-principles and model calculation for thirteen spin systems and
magnetic layers, free of any effective field, to establish a simpler and
alternative paradigm of laser-induced ultrafast spin reversal and to point out
a path to a full-integrated photospintronic device. It is the interplay of the
optical selection rule and sublattice spin orderings that underlines seemingly
irreconcilable helicity-dependent/independent switchings. Using realistic
experimental parameters, we predict that strong ferrimagnets, in particular,
Laves phase C15 rare-earth alloys, meet the telecommunication energy
requirement of 10 fJ, thus allowing a cost-effective subpicosecond laser to
switch spin in the GHz region.Comment: 23 pages, 6 figures and one tabl
Quasi-particle random phase approximation with quasi-particle-vibration coupling: application to the Gamow-Teller response of the superfluid nucleus Sn
We propose a self-consistent quasi-particle random phase approximation (QRPA)
plus quasi-particle-vibration coupling (QPVC) model with Skyrme interactions to
describe the width and the line shape of giant resonances in open-shell nuclei,
in which the effect of superfluidity should be taken into account in both the
ground state and the excited states. We apply the new model to the Gamow-Teller
resonance in the superfluid nucleus Sn, including both the isoscalar
spin-triplet and the isovector spin-singlet pairing interactions. The strength
distribution in Sn is well reproduced and the underlying microscopic
mechanisms, related to QPVC and also to isoscalar pairing, are analyzed in
detail.Comment: 32 pages, 11 figures, 4 table
Magnetic spin moment reduction in photoexcited ferromagnets through exchange interaction quenching: Beyond the rigid band approximation
The exchange interaction among electrons is one of the most fundamental
quantum mechanical interactions in nature and underlies any magnetic phenomena
from ferromagnetic ordering to magnetic storage. The current technology is
built upon a thermal or magnetic field, but a frontier is emerging to directly
control magnetism using ultrashort laser pulses. However, little is known about
the fate of the exchange interaction. Here we report unambiguously that
photoexcitation is capable of quenching the exchange interaction in all three
ferromagnetic metals. The entire process starts with a small number of
photoexcited electrons which build up a new and self-destructive potential that
collapses the system into a new state with a reduced exchange splitting. The
spin moment reduction follows a Bloch-like law as , where is
the absorbed photon energy and is a scaling exponent. A good agreement
is found between the experimental and our theoretical results. Our findings may
have a broader implication for dynamic electron correlation effects in
laser-excited iron-based superconductors, iron borate, rare-earth
orthoferrites, hematites and rare-earth transition metal alloys.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figures, one supplementary material fil
Generating high-order optical and spin harmonics from ferromagnetic monolayers
High-order harmonic generation (HHG) in solids has entered a new phase of
intensive research, with envisioned band-structure mapping on an ultrashort
time scale. This partly benefits from a flurry of new HHG materials discovered,
but so far has missed an important group. HHG in magnetic materials should have
profound impact on future magnetic storage technology advances. Here we
introduce and demonstrate HHG in ferromagnetic monolayers. We find that HHG
carries spin information and sensitively depends on the relativistic spin-orbit
coupling; and if they are dispersed into the crystal momentum space,
harmonics originating from real transitions can be -resolved and carry
the band structure information. Geometrically, the HHG signal is sensitive to
spatial orientations of monolayers. Different from the optical counterpart, the
spin HHG, though probably weak, only appears at even orders, a consequence of
SU(2) symmetry. Our findings open an unexplored frontier -- magneto-high-order
harmonic generation.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figure
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