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Updated: Jul 10, 2026

Spectral and Angle-Resolved Magneto-Optical Characterization of Photonic Nanostructures
Published on: November 21, 2019
Impulsive generation of coherent magnons by linearly polarized light in the easy-plane antiferromagnet FeBO3
A M Kalashnikova1, A V Kimel, R V Pisarev
1Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 ED Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
Polarization-dependent excitation of coherent spin precession by 150 fs linearly polarized laser pulses is observed in the easy-plane antiferromagnet FeBO3. We show that the mechanism of excitation is impulsive stimulated Raman scattering. This process is shown to be determined not only by the magneto-optical constants of the material, but also by the properties of the spin precession itself. Though carrying no angular momentum, the linearly polarized laser pulses act on the spins as effective fields that can be considered as an ultrafast inverse Cotton-Mouton effect.
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