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Updated: May 23, 2026

Direct Imaging of Laser-driven Ultrafast Molecular Rotation
Published on: February 4, 2017
Structural and magnetic dynamics of a laser induced phase transition in FeRh
S O Mariager1, F Pressacco, G Ingold
1Swiss Light Source, Paul Scherrer Institut, 5232 Villigen, Switzerland. simon.mariager@psi.ch
Abstract:
We use time-resolved x-ray diffraction and magneto-optical Kerr effect to study the laser-induced antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic phase transition in FeRh. The structural response is given by the nucleation of independent ferromagnetic domains (τ(1)~30 ps). This is significantly faster than the magnetic response (τ(2)~60 ps) given by the subsequent domain realignment. X-ray diffraction shows that the two phases coexist on short time scales and that the phase transition is limited by the speed of sound. A nucleation model describing both the structural and magnetic dynamics is presented.
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