44 research outputs found
Robust Magnetic Order Upon Ultrafast Excitation of an Antiferromagnet
The ultrafast manipulation of magnetic order due to optical excitation is governed by the intricate flow of energy and momentum between the electron, lattice, and spin subsystems. While various models are commonly employed to describe these dynamics, a prominent example being the microscopic three temperature model (M3TM), systematic, quantitative comparisons to both the dynamics of energy flow and magnetic order are scarce. Here, an M3TM was applied to the ultrafast magnetic order dynamics of the layered antiferromagnet GdRh2Si2. The femtosecond dynamics of electronic temperature, surface ferromagnetic order, and bulk antiferromagnetic order were explored at various pump fluences employing time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and time-resolved resonant magnetic soft X-ray diffraction, respectively. After optical excitation, both the surface ferromagnetic order and the bulk antiferromagnetic order dynamics exhibit two-step demagnetization behaviors with two similar timescales (<1 ps, ∼10 ps), indicating a strong exchange coupling between localized 4f and itinerant conduction electrons. Despite a good qualitative agreement, the M3TM predicts larger demagnetization than the experimental observation, which can be phenomenologically described by a transient, fluence-dependent increased Néel temperature. The results indicate that effects beyond a mean-field description have to be considered for a quantitative description of ultrafast magnetic order dynamics
Deterministic control of an antiferromagnetic spin arrangement using ultrafast optical excitation
A central prospect of antiferromagnetic spintronics is to exploit magnetic properties that are unavailable with ferromagnets. However, this poses the challenge of accessing such properties for readout and control. To this end, light-induced manipulation of the transient ground state, e.g. by changing the magnetic anisotropy potential, opens promising pathways towards ultrafast deterministic control of antiferromagnetism. Here, we use this approach to trigger a coherent rotation of the entire long-range antiferromagnetic spin arrangement about a crystalline axis in GdRh2Si2 and demonstrate deterministic control of this rotation upon ultrafast optical excitation. Our observations can be explained by a displacive excitation of the Gd spins' local anisotropy potential by the optical excitation, allowing for a full description of this transient magnetic anisotropy potential
Robust Magnetic Order Upon Ultrafast Excitation of an Antiferromagnet
The ultrafast manipulation of magnetic order due to optical excitation is governed by the intricate flow of energy and momentum between the electron, lattice, and spin subsystems. While various models are commonly employed to describe these dynamics, a prominent example being the microscopic three temperature model M3TM , systematic, quantitative comparisons to both the dynamics of energy flow and magnetic order are scarce. Here, an M3TM was applied to the ultrafast magnetic order dynamics of the layered antiferromagnet GdRh2Si2. The femtosecond dynamics of electronic temperature, surface ferromagnetic order, and bulk antiferromagnetic order were explored at various pump fluences employing time and angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy and time resolved resonant magnetic soft X ray diffraction, respectively. After optical excitation, both the surface ferromagnetic order and the bulk antiferromagnetic order dynamics exhibit two step demagnetization behaviors with two similar timescales lt;1 ps, amp; 8764;10 ps , indicating a strong exchange coupling between localized 4f and itinerant conduction electrons. Despite a good qualitative agreement, the M3TM predicts larger demagnetization than the experimental observation, which can be phenomenologically described by a transient, fluence dependent increased N el temperature. The results indicate that effects beyond a mean field description have to be considered for a quantitative description of ultrafast magnetic order dynamic
Optical control of 4f orbital state in rare-earth metals
Information technology demands continuous increase of data-storage density.
In high-density magnetic recording media, the large magneto-crystalline
anisotropy (MCA) stabilizes the stored information against decay through
thermal fluctuations. In the latest generation storage media, MCA is so large
that magnetic order needs to be transiently destroyed by heat to enable bit
writing. Here we show an alternative approach to control high-anisotropy
magnets: With ultrashort laser pulses the anisotropy itself can be manipulated
via electronic state excitations. In rare-earth materials like terbium metal,
magnetic moment and high MCA both originate from the 4f electronic state.
Following infrared laser excitation 5d-4f electron-electron scattering
processes lead to selective orbital excitations that change the 4f orbital
occupation and significantly alter the MCA. Besides these excitations within
the 4f multiplet, 5d-4f electron transfer causes a transient change of the 4f
occupation number, which, too, strongly alters the MCA. Such MCA change cannot
be achieved by heating: The material would rather be damaged than the 4f
configuration modified. Our results show a way to overcome this limitation for
a new type of efficient magnetic storage medium. Besides potential
technological relevance, the observation of MCA-changing excitations also has
implications for a general understanding of magnetic dynamics processes on
ultrashort time scales, where the 4f electronic state affects the angular
momentum transfer between spin system and lattice.Comment: Manuscript (14 pages, 3 figures) and Supplementary Information (22
pages, 9 figures
Spatially modulated "Mottness" in La2-xBaxCuO4
Stripe phases were predicted to arise in doped antiferromagnets through
competition between magnetism and the kinetic energy of mobile carriers
(typically holes). In copper-oxides the main experimental evidence for stripes
is neutron scattering from La1.48Nd0.4Sr0.12CuO4 (LNSCO) and La1.875Ba0.125CuO4
(LBCO) which reveals coexisting static spin and charge order whose wavelengths
differ by a factor of two, reminiscent of charged rivers separating regions of
oppositely-phased antiferromagnetism. A neutron is an electrically neutral
object, however, so does not detect charge but rather its associated lattice
distortion ; it is not known if the "stripe" phase in LNSCO and LBCO actually
involves ordering of the doped holes. Here we present a study of the charge
order in LBCO with resonant soft x-ray scattering (RSXS). We observe giant
resonances at both the mobile carrier and upper-Hubbard band features in the OK
edge. These demonstrate a substantial modulation in the doped hole density as
well as the amount of spectral weight near the correlated gap, i.e. the degree
of "Mottness". The peak-to-trough amplitude of the valence modulation is
estimated to be 0.063 holes, which if interpreted with a model of the stripe
form factor suggests an integrated area of 0.59 holes under a single stripe.
While only an estimate, this number agrees with what is expected for
half-filled stripes.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Nature Physic
Testicular morphology and spermatogenesis in harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena)
Knowledge about reproductive parameters in male harbour porpoises such as testicular histology and germ cell maturation as well as seasonal changes in spermatogenesis is scarce. Thus, the aim of the present study was to report changes in the histological appearance of the testicular morphology of neonatal and juvenile harbour porpoises during maturation, to identify stages of spermatogenesis in adult males and to detect seasonal modifications. The identification of these stages can be used to assess the developmental profile of gene expression during spermatogenesis and to identify defects in spermatogenesis arising in pathological conditions. Testes of adult male harbour porpoises from the North and Baltic Sea that became stranded or by-caught in the years 1998-2016 were histologically examined using Haematoxylin and Eosin - staining. The Periodic Acid Schiff (PAS) staining was used for spermatogenic staging and the evaluation of the development of the acrosomic cap. For the identification of changes in testes morphology and morphometry during the course of the year, histological characteristics like germ cell associations and diameter of the convoluted seminiferous tubules were noted for each month. The analysis showed that in adult males more than one stage of spermatogenesis could be found per cross section of the convoluted seminiferous tubules similar to findings in men and some ape species. This rare phenomenon is called multi-stage-arrangement. In sexually active males from the peak breeding season (June and July) eight stages of spermatogenesis were identified and all stages occurred simultaneously, while during the low breeding season (August to May) only residual spermatogenesis or constituent germ cell populations were found. Missing germ cell generations were recorded in specimens from July to September. Our investigations provide a detailed staging of spermatogenesis and give new insight into the reproductive biology of male harbour porpoises. With these new basic parameters, indicators for endocrine disruptors can be developed in the future, aiming to detect how environmental factors could affect male fertility in wildlife