No Arabic abstract
We have numerically solved the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert (LLG) equation in its standard and inertial forms to study the magnetization switching dynamics in a $3d$ thin film ferromagnet. The dynamics is triggered by ultrashort magnetic field pulses of varying width and amplitude in the picosecond and Tesla range. We have compared the solutions of the two equations in terms of switching characteristic, speed and energy analysis. Both equations return qualitatively similar switching dynamics, characterized by regions of slower precessional behavior and faster ballistic motion. In case of inertial dynamics, ballistic switching is found in a 25 % wider region in the parameter space given by the magnetic field amplitude and width. The energy analysis of the dynamics is qualitatively different for the standard and inertial LLG equations. In the latter case, an extra energy channel, interpreted as the kinetic energy of the system, is available. Such extra channel is responsible for a resonant energy absorption at THz frequencies, consistent with the occurence of spin nutation.
The dynamical equation of the magnetization has been reconsidered with enlarging the phase space of the ferromagnetic degrees of freedom to the angular momentum. The generalized Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation that includes inertial terms, and the corresponding Fokker-Planck equation, are then derived in the framework of mesoscopic non-equilibrium thermodynamics theory. A typical relaxation time $tau$ is introduced describing the relaxation of the magnetization acceleration from the inertial regime towards the precession regime defined by a constant Larmor frequency. For time scales larger than $tau$, the usual Gilbert equation is recovered. For time scales below $tau$, nutation and related inertial effects are predicted. The inertial regime offers new opportunities for the implementation of ultrafast magnetization switching in magnetic devices.
The gyromagnetic relation - i.e. the proportionality between the angular momentum $vec L$ (defined by an inertial tensor) and the magnetization $vec M$ - is evidence of the intimate connections between the magnetic properties and the inertial properties of ferromagnetic bodies. However, inertia is absent from the dynamics of a magnetic dipole (the Landau-Lifshitz equation, the Gilbert equation and the Bloch equation contain only the first derivative of the magnetization with respect to time). In order to investigate this paradoxical situation, the lagrangian approach (proposed originally by T. H. Gilbert) is revisited keeping an arbitrary nonzero inertial tensor. A dynamic equation generalized to the inertial regime is obtained. It is shown how both the usual gyromagnetic relation and the well-known Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation are recovered at the kinetic limit, i.e. for time scales above the relaxation time $tau$ of the angular momentum.
We investigate in details the inertial dynamics of a uniform magnetization in the ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) context. Analytical predictions and numerical simulations of the complete equations within the Inertial Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert (ILLG) model are presented. In addition to the usual precession resonance, the inertial model gives a second resonance peak associated to the nutation dynamics provided that the damping is not too large. The analytical resolution of the equations of motion yields both the precession and nutation angular frequencies. They are function of the inertial dynamics characteristic time $tau$, the dimensionless damping $alpha$ and the static magnetic field $H$. A scaling function with respect to $alphataugamma H$ is found for the nutation angular frequency, also valid for the precession angular frequency when $alphataugamma Hgg 1$. Beyond the direct measurement of the nutation resonance peak, we show that the inertial dynamics of the magnetization has measurable effects on both the width and the angular frequency of the precession resonance peak when varying the applied static field. These predictions could be used to experimentally identify the inertial dynamics of the magnetization proposed in the ILLG model.
Current induced magnetization switching and resistance associated with domain walls pinned in nanoconstrictions have both been previously reported in (Ga,Mn)As based devices, but using very dissimilar experimental schemes and device geometries . Here we report on the simultaneous observation of both effects in a single nanodevice, which constitutes a significant step forward towards the eventual realization of spintronic devices which make use of domain walls to store, transport, and manipulate information.
Efficient control of a magnetization without an application of the external magnetic fields is the ultimate goal of spintronics. We demonstrate, that in monolayers of $text{CrI}_3$, magnetization can be switched all optically, by application of the resonant pulses of circularly polarized light. This happens because of the efficient coupling of the lattice magnetization with bright excitonic transition. $text{CrI}_3$ is thus perspective functional material with high potential for applications in the domains of spintronics and ultra-fast magnetic memory.