Inverse Faraday effect in 3d, 4d, and 5d transition metals

TL;DR

This study uses first-principles calculations to analyze how d-electron filling influences the inverse Faraday effect in transition metals, revealing element-specific behaviors and tunability via Fermi level adjustments.

Contribution

It provides a systematic first-principles analysis of the spin contributions to IFE in 3d, 4d, and 5d transition metals, highlighting the role of electron-hole asymmetry and Fermi level tuning.

Findings

Pt exhibits the highest IFE in 1-2 eV range.

Os shows strong IFE in 2-4 eV range despite smaller magnetic moments.

IFE can be tuned by adjusting Fermi levels in similar crystal structure elements.

Abstract

Using first-principles calculations, we systematically investigate the spin contributions to the inverse Faraday effect (IFE) in transition metals. The IFE depends on the d-electron filling and asymmetry between excited electron and hole spin moments. Our results reveal that even elements with smaller electron magnetic moments, like Os, can exhibit higher IFE due to greater electron-hole asymmetry. Pt shows the highest IFE in the 1-2 eV frequency range, while Os dominates in the 2-4 eV range. In addition, we demonstrate that the IFE of neighboring elements with similar crystal structures (e.g., Ir, Pt, and Au) can be tuned by adjusting their Fermi levels, indicating the importance of d-electron filling on IFE. Finally, we find that the trend in electron (or hole) contributions to the IFE closely follows that of the spin Hall conductivity, however, the total IFE involves more complex interactions.