Laser-induced magnetization curve

Shintaro Takayoshi, Masahiro Sato, Takashi Oka

Physical Review B · 2014 · 61 citations · 42 references

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Concepts

TL;DR

Magnetization onset follows a many‑body Landau‑Zener mechanism. The study proposes an all‑optical ultrafast method to highly magnetize quantum magnets with a circularly polarized terahertz laser. The method uses a chirped circularly polarized terahertz laser and numerical simulations of quantum spin models to identify conditions for laser‑induced magnetization. The method yields time‑resolved magnetization curves without static fields, demonstrates laser‑induced magnetization in realistic spin models, and reveals a dynamically realized topological plateau state.

Abstract

We propose an all optical ultrafast method to highly magnetize general quantum magnets using a circularly polarized terahertz laser. The key idea is to utilize a circularly polarized laser and its chirping. Through this method, one can obtain magnetization curves of a broad class of quantum magnets as a function of time even without any static magnetic field. We numerically demonstrate the laser-induced magnetization process in realistic quantum spin models and find a condition for the realization. The onset of magnetization can be described by a many-body version of Landau-Zener mechanism. In a particular model, we show that a plateau state with topological properties can be realized dynamically.

References

42