Degeneracy and trajectory control of spin eigenmodes excited by fs-optical pulses in a nearly compensated ferrimagnet

Abstract

We investigate optically excited spin dynamics in a uniaxial ferrimagnet near the magnetization compensation point under a magnetic field applied along the magnetic anisotropy axis. Experiment and numerical modeling reveal an unusual regime where the frequencies of two spin eigenmodes approach each other and become highly field sensitive. The modes, corresponding to opposite rotations of the Neel vector, simultaneously reverse their handedness at a critical field where their frequencies become degenerate. At this point, the two-frequency precessional dynamics collapses into a linear oscillations directed along the inverse-Faraday-effect excitation induced by a single pump pulse. We further show that a double-pulse excitation scheme enables control of the spin trajectory. These results uncover an unconventional dynamical regime in ferrimagnets and establish new opportunities for manipulating spin motion in magnonic systems and devices.