Simple Picture of the Electron Reservoirs of Magnetic Atoms (IMAGE)
Caption
Simple picture of the electron reservoirs of magnetic atoms in a CoPt-alloy. In Cobalt (Co), the number of spin-down electrons (red) around the Co atoms is significantly lower than that of the spin-up electrons (blue). Consequently, the available space to take up further spin-down electrons is larger. Triggered by the optical excitation, spin-down electrons can be transferred from the Platinum (Pt) to the Co sites (OISTR process), which fills the respective reservoir and leads to demagnetization in Co. At the Pt atoms, because of the high spin-orbit coupling strength, efficient spin-flips can be observed already in the first 10-100 femtoseconds after optical excitation, quickly equilibrating the number of spin-down and spin-up electrons.
Credit
MBI Berlin
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