Inertial effects in ultrafast spin dynamics

Abstract

The dynamics of magnetic moments consist of a precession around the magnetic field direction and a relaxation towards the field to minimize the energy. While the magnetic moment and the angular momentum are conventionally assumed to be parallel to each other, at ultrafast time scales their directions become separated due to inertial effects. The inertial dynamics give rise to additional high-frequency modes in the excitation spectrum of magnetic materials. Here, we review the recent theoretical and experimental advances in this emerging topic and discuss the open challenges and opportunities in the detection and the potential applications of inertial spin dynamics.