Non-thermal electrons open the non-equilibrium pathway of the phase transition in FeRh

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216305%3A26620%2F26%3A0198134" target="_blank" >RIV/00216305:26620/26:0198134 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s42005-025-02066-5" target="_blank" >https://www.nature.com/articles/s42005-025-02066-5</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s42005-025-02066-5" target="_blank" >10.1038/s42005-025-02066-5</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Non-thermal electrons open the non-equilibrium pathway of the phase transition in FeRh

Original language description

The optical excitation of metals initially creates short-lived non-Fermi distributions of the electrons. The electrons and holes excited far above and below the Fermi level quickly relax to hot Fermi-distributions that subsequently cool via electron-phonon scattering. Here, we show that such non-thermal charge carriers beyond the Fermi-distribution speed up the prototypical first-order antiferromagnetic-to-ferromagnetic phase transition in FeRh. In ultrafast x-ray diffraction experiments, we vary the maximum electron temperature by increasing the pump pulse duration up to 10 ps. For direct optical excitation of FeRh, ferromagnetic domains nucleate within 8 ps as soon as the successively deposited energy surpasses the site-specific threshold energy. In contrast, suppressing the direct optical excitation by an optically opaque Pt layer leads to a nucleation on a 50 ps timescale driven by the near-equilibrium heat transport. These findings unambiguously identify the photo-excitation of non-thermal electrons and not electron-phonon non-equilibria to enable the rapid phase transition in FeRh.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

10300 - Physical sciences

Project

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Continuities

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Publication year

2025

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Communications Physics

ISSN

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e-ISSN

2399-3650

Volume of the periodical

8

Issue of the periodical within the volume

1

Country of publishing house

GB - UNITED KINGDOM

Number of pages

9

Pages from-to

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UT code for WoS article

001462015300001

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-105002742414