Spin dynamics of antiferromagnets under action of femtosecond laser pulses

Investigations of excitation of spin dynamics in transparent antiferromagnets (AFM) under the action of femtosecond laser pulses are reviewed. A variety of observed effects is considered in the context of a unified approach. The analysis is based on the nonlinear sigma model for the antiferromagnetism vector L with taking into account effective fields induced in a magnetic material due to the interaction between light and the spin system of the magnetic material. The contributions of various magneto-optical effects (both standard Faraday or Cotton-Mouton (Voigt) effects and specific L-dependent effects for AFM) are considered as characteristic contributions to the effective field within the sigma model. The most typical experimental data for real AFM are discussed. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.