Microscopic theory of ultrafast spin linear reversal

A recent experiment (Vahaplar et al 2009 Phys. Rev. Lett. 103 117201) showed that a single femtosecond laser can reverse the spin direction without spin precession, or spin linear reversal (SLR), but its microscopic theory has been missing. Here we show that SLR does not occur naturally. Two generic spin models, the Heisenberg and Hubbard models, are employed to describe magnetic insulators and metals, respectively. We find analytically that the spin change is always accompanied by a simultaneous excitation of at least two spin components. The only model that has prospects for SLR is the Stoner single-electron band model. However, under the influence of the laser field, the orbital angular momenta are excited and are coupled to each other. If a circularly polarized light is used, then all three components of the orbital angular momenta are excited, and so are their spins. The generic spin commutation relation further reveals that if SLR exists, it must involve a complicated multiple state excitation.