title: Femtosecond laser excitation drives ferromagnetic gadolinium out of magnetic equilibrium.
abstract: The temporal evolution of the exchange-split Δ(2)-like Σ valence bands of the 4f-ferromagnet gadolinium after femtosecond laser excitation has been studied using angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy based on high-order harmonic generation. The ultrafast drop of the exchange splitting reflects the magnetic response seen in femtosecond magnetic dichroism experiments. However, while the minority valence band reacts immediately, the response of the majority counterpart is delayed by 1 picosecond and is only half as fast. These findings demonstrate that laser excitation drives the valence band structure out of magnetic equilibrium.
authors.affiliation: Max-Born-Institut, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Carley
authors.forename: Kristian
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Döbrich
authors.forename: Björn
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Frietsch
authors.forename: Cornelius
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gahl
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Teichmann
authors.forename: Olaf
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Schwarzkopf
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wernet
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weinelt