Research at the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter (MPSD) has revealed that intense laser light can induce magnetism in solids on an attosecond timescale, the fastest magnetic response observed to date. By simulating interactions in various 2D and 3D materials, the team found that heavy atoms play a crucial role in facilitating spin-orbit interactions, which are necessary for converting electron motion induced by laser pulses into spin polarization, or magnetism. Normally, linear-polarized laser light does not induce magnetism, but the simulations unexpectedly demonstrated that it can, albeit transiently, lasting only until the laser ceases. The team recorded magnetization evolution on timescales shorter than 500 attoseconds.
The intense laser pulses cause electrons to flip their spins rapidly, resulting in an alignment that creates magnetism. These findings suggest that the ultimate speed limit for magnetic phenomena may lie within the tens of attoseconds range. This research not only advances the understanding of magnetization dynamics but may also pave the way for the development of ultrafast memory devices, challenging existing perspectives on magnetism. The study was published in npj Computational Materials.
