Magnetic exchange interaction between rare-earth and Mn ions in multiferroic hexagonal manganites

We report a study of magnetic dynamics in multiferroic hexagonal manganite HoMnO3 by far-infrared spectroscopy. Low-temperature magnetic excitation spectrum of HoMnO3 consists of magnetic-dipole transitions of Ho ions within the crystal-field split J=8 manifold and of the triangular antiferromagnetic resonance of Mn ions. We determine the effective spin Hamiltonian for the Ho ion ground state. The magnetic-field splitting of the Mn antiferromagnetic resonance allows us to measure the magnetic exchange coupling between the rare-earth and Mn ions.Comment: accepted for publication in Physical Review Letter

Coupling Between An Optical Phonon and the Kondo Effect

We explore the ultra-fast optical response of Yb_{14}MnSb_{11}, providing further evidence that this Zintl compound is the first ferromagnetic, under-screened Kondo lattice. These experiments also provide the first demonstration of coupling between an optical phonon mode and the Kondo effect.Comment: 4 Pages, 3 Figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

Detection of coherent magnons via ultrafast pump-probe reflectance spectroscopy in multiferroic Ba0.6Sr1.4Zn2Fe12O22

We report the detection of a magnetic resonance mode in multiferroic Ba0.6Sr1.4Zn2Fe12O22 using time domain pump-probe reflectance spectroscopy. Magnetic sublattice precession is coherently excited via picosecond thermal modification of the exchange energy. Importantly, this precession is recorded as a change in reflectance caused by the dynamic magnetoelectric effect. Thus, transient reflectance provides a sensitive probe of magnetization dynamics in materials with strong magnetoelectric coupling, such as multiferroics, revealing new possibilities for application in spintronics and ultrafast manipulation of magnetic moments.Comment: 4 figure

Observation of Competing Order in a High-TcT_{c} Superconductor with Femtosecond Optical Pulses

We present studies of the photoexcited quasiparticle dynamics in Tl$_{2}$Ba$_{2}$Ca$_{2}$Cu$_{3}$O$_{y}$ (Tl-2223) using femtosecond optical techniques. Deep into the superconducting state (below 40 K), a dramatic change occurs in the temporal dynamics associated with photoexcited quasiparticles rejoining the condensate. This is suggestive of entry into a coexistence phase which, as our analysis reveals, opens a gap in the density of states (in addition to the superconducting gap), and furthermore, competes with superconductivity resulting in a depression of the superconducting gap.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Spin excitations in the antiferromagnet NaNiO2

In NaNiO2, Ni3+ ions form a quasi two dimensional triangular lattice of S = 1=2 spins. The magnetic order observed below 20K has been described as an A type antiferromagnet with ferro- magnetic layers weakly coupled antiferromagnetically. We studied the magnetic excitations with the electron spin resonance for frequencies 1-20 cm-1, in magnetic fields up to 14 T. The bulk of the results are interpreted in terms of a phenomenological model involving bi-axial anisotropy for the spins: a strong easy-plane term, and a weaker anisotropy within the plane. The direction of the easy plane is constrained by the collective Jahn-Teller distortion occurring in this material at 480 K

Long wavelength magnetic and magnetoelectric excitations in the ferroelectric antiferromagnet BiFeO3

We present a terahertz spectroscopic study of magnetic excitations in ferroelectric antiferromagnet BiFeO3. We interpret the observed spectrum of long-wavelength magnetic resonance modes in terms of the normal modes of the material's cycloidal antiferromagnetic structure. We find that the modulated Dzyaloshinski-Moriya interaction leads to a splitting of the out-of-plane resonance modes. We also assign one of the observed absorption lines to an electromagnon excitation that results from the magnetoelectric coupling between the ferroelectric polarization and the cycloidal magnetic structure of BiFeO3

The influence of charge and magnetic order on polaron and acoustic phonon dynamics in LuFe\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3eO\u3csub\u3e4\u3c/sub\u3e

Femtosecond optical pump-probe spectroscopy is used to reveal the influence of charge and magnetic order on polaron dynamics and coherent acoustic phonon oscillations in single crystals of charge-ordered, ferrimagnetic LuFe2O4. We experimentally observed the influence of magnetic order on polaron dynamics. We also observed a correlation between charge order and the amplitude of the acoustic phonon oscillations, due to photoinduced changes in the lattice constant that originate from the photoexcited electrons. This provides insight into the general behavior of coherent acoustic phonon oscillations in charge-ordered materials

Probing the Interplay between Quantum Charge Fluctuations and Magnetic Ordering in LuFe2O4

Ferroelectric and ferromagnetic materials possess spontaneous electric and magnetic order, respectively, which can be switched by the corresponding applied electric and magnetic fields. Multiferroics combine these properties in a single material, providing an avenue for controlling electric polarization with a magnetic field and magnetism with an electric field. These materials have been intensively studied in recent years, both for their fundamental scientific interest as well as their potential applications in a broad range of magnetoelectric devices [1, 2, 3, 4]. However, the microscopic origins of magnetism and ferroelectricity are quite different, and the mechanisms producing strong coupling between them are not always well understood. Hence, gaining a deeper understanding of magnetoelectric coupling in these materials is the key to their rational design. Here, we use ultrafast optical spectroscopy to show that quantum charge fluctuations can govern the interplay between electric polarization and magnetic ordering in the charge-ordered multiferroic LuFe2O4