Abstract

Bulk chiral magnets are prime examples of materials hosting magnetic skyrmions - nanometer-sized spin configurations characterized by a nontrivial topology. Although many aspects of this material class have been studied extensively, their laser-excited dynamics, particularly the laser-driven magnetization dynamics in the skyrmion lattice state, remain largely unexplored due to challenges such as the pronounced damping of the magnetization dynamics or the narrow region of the magnetic phase diagram where skyrmions can be accessed. This talk aims to address this research gap by focusing on the laser-excited dynamics of bulk chiral magnets, driven by the thermal modulation of magnetic interactions via laser heating and probed by time-resolved measurements of the magneto-optical Kerr effect. In a first study, we investigate the laser-excited dynamics of the prototypical bulk chiral magnet MnSi, focusing on the influence of magnetic anisotropy on the magnetization dynamics. A second study addresses the laser-excited skyrmion dynamics in thermal equilibrium and in a metastable state of the bulk chiral magnet Fe1-xCoxSi. Overall, the talk shows that laser excitation is a versatile tool for studying the magnetization dynamics of bulk chiral magnets, complementing previous microwave spectroscopy measurements and their simulations.

In collaboration with Sibylle Sievers, Heiko Füser, Andreas Bauer, Christian Pfleiderer, and Hans Werner Schumacher.