Theory of laser-induced demagnetization at high temperatures

TL;DR

This paper presents a theoretical model of laser-induced demagnetization at high temperatures, explicitly considering electron, spin, and lattice interactions to understand magnetization dynamics near the Curie temperature.

Contribution

It introduces a self-consistent approach to derive magnetization dynamics equations incorporating electron-magnon and electron-phonon interactions across a broad temperature range.

Findings

Demagnetization time scales depend on temperature and laser intensity.

Critical slowdown occurs near the Curie temperature, but can be mitigated by an external magnetic field.

Fast magnetization dynamics are relevant for heat-assisted magnetic recording.

Abstract

Laser-induced demagnetization is theoretically studied by explicitly taking into account interactions among electrons, spins and lattice. Assuming that the demagnetization processes take place during the thermalization of the sub-systems, the temperature dynamics is given by the energy transfer between the thermalized interacting baths. These energy transfers are accounted for explicitly through electron-magnons and electron-phonons interaction, which govern the demagnetization time scale. By properly treating the spin system in a self-consistent random phase approximation, we derive magnetization dynamic equations for a broad range of temperature. The dependence of demagnetization on the temperature and pumping laser intensity is calculated in detail. In particular, we show several salient features for understanding magnetization dynamics near the Curie temperature. While the critical slowdown in dynamics occurs, we find that an external magnetic field can restore the fast dynamics. We discuss the implication of the fast dynamics in the application of heat assisted magnetic recording.