Abstract

Recently, ultrafast control of magnetization via instantaneous stimulated Raman-type nonlinear optical processes has gained considerable interest. Here, we discuss that the conservation of angular momentum rules the light induced magnetization [1]. In light-magnetization interactions in solids, the balance of angular momentum includes contributions from the light, the magnetization, and the crystalline lattice. In this presentation, we highlight the role of the lattice, in that it provides angular momentum in discrete units in correspondence to its rotational symmetry, which is the rotational analogue of the Umklapp process [2].

© 2011 IEEE