Strong ultrafast demagnetization due to the intraband transitions
Demagnetization in ferromagnetic transition metals driven by a femtosecond laser pulse is a fundamental problem in solid state physics, and its understanding is essential to the development of spintronic devices.Ab initiocalculation of time-dependent magnetic moment in the velocity gauge so far has not been successful in reproducing the large amount of demagnetization observed in experiments. In this work, we propose a method to incorporate intraband transitions within the velocity gauge through a convective derivative in the crystal momentum space. Our results for transition-element bulk crystals (bcc Fe, hcp Co and fcc Ni) based on the time-dependent quantum Liouville equation show a dramatic enhancement in the amount of demagnetization after the inclusion of an intraband term, in agreement with experiments. We also find that the effect of intraband transitions on each ferromagnetic material is distinctly different because of their band structure and spin property differences. Our finding has a far-reaching impact on understanding of ultrafast demagnetization.
- Research Organization:
- Indiana State Univ., Terre Haute, IN (United States); Univ. of California, Oakland, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-05CH11231; FG02-06ER46304
- OSTI ID:
- 2578711
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Physics. Condensed Matter, Journal Name: Journal of Physics. Condensed Matter Journal Issue: 49 Vol. 35; ISSN 0953-8984
- Publisher:
- IOP PublishingCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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