Terahertz field-induced metastable magnetization near criticality in FePS3

Batyr Ilyas, Tianchuang Luo, Alexander Hoegen, Emil Viñas Boström, Zhuquan Zhang, Jaena Park, Junghyun Kim, Je-Geun Park, Keith A. Nelson, Angel Rubio and Nuh Gedik ()
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Batyr Ilyas: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Tianchuang Luo: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Alexander Hoegen: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Emil Viñas Boström: Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter
Zhuquan Zhang: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Jaena Park: Seoul National University
Junghyun Kim: Seoul National University
Je-Geun Park: Seoul National University
Keith A. Nelson: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Angel Rubio: Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter
Nuh Gedik: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Nature, 2024, vol. 636, issue 8043, 609-614

Abstract: Abstract Controlling the functional properties of quantum materials with light has emerged as a frontier of condensed-matter physics, leading to the discovery of various light-induced phases of matter, such as superconductivity1, ferroelectricity2,3, magnetism4–6 and charge density waves7. However, in most cases, the photoinduced phases return to equilibrium on ultrafast timescales after the light is turned off, limiting their practical applications. Here we use intense terahertz pulses to induce a metastable magnetization with a remarkably long lifetime of more than 2.5 milliseconds in the van der Waals antiferromagnet FePS3. The metastable state becomes increasingly robust as the temperature approaches the antiferromagnetic transition point, suggesting that critical order parameter fluctuations play an important part in facilitating the extended lifetime. By combining first-principles calculations with classical Monte Carlo and spin dynamics simulations, we find that the displacement of a specific phonon mode modulates the exchange couplings in a manner that favours a ground state with finite magnetization near the Néel temperature. This analysis also clarifies how the critical fluctuations of the dominant antiferromagnetic order can amplify both the magnitude and the lifetime of the new magnetic state. Our discovery demonstrates the efficient manipulation of the magnetic ground state in layered magnets through non-thermal pathways using terahertz light and establishes regions near critical points with enhanced order parameter fluctuations as promising areas to search for metastable hidden quantum states.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08226-x

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