Three-Dimensional Transfer between Optical Polarization and Magnetic Oscillations by Inverse Magneto-Optical Effect(Research)

Abstract

We demonstrate optical control and detection of three magnetic oscillation modes, where modes and initial phases of the oscillations are independently triggered and measured by tailoring optical polarization states in a pump-probe measurement. Two in-plane modes and an out-of-plane mode are triggered by linearly and circularly polarized light pulses via the inverse Cotton-Mouton effect and the inverse Faraday effect, and detected by circularly and linearly polarized ones via the Cotton-Mouton effect and the Faraday effect, respectively, in a hexagonal antiferromagnet YMnO_3 with three-sublattices. The control and detection represent a bijection of information from polarization of pump pulse to magnetic oscillation and toward polarization of probe pulse. Also, the two-dimensional vector control of magnetic oscillation of YMnO_3 was realized by a pair of optical pulses with different polarizations.