Abstract
The Elliott-Yafet (EY) mechanism is arguably the most promising candidate to explain the light-induced ultrafast demagnetization dynamics in ferromagnetic transition metals on time scales on the order of 100 fs. So far, only electron-phonon (or impurity) scattering has been analyzed as the scattering process needed to account for the demagnetization. We show that an EY-like mechanism based on electron-electron scattering has the potential to explain time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect measurements on thin magnetic Co and Ni films, without reference to a “phononic spin bath.”
- Received 26 August 2009
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.80.180407
©2009 American Physical Society