Magnetic Bloch oscillations and domain wall dynamics in a near-Ising ferromagnetic chain.

Hansen, Ursula B; Syljuåsen, Olav F; Jensen, Jens; Schäffer, Turi K; Andersen, Christopher R; Boehm, Martin; Rodriguez-Rivera, Jose A; Christensen, Niels B et al. · Nat Commun · 2022

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

When charged particles in periodic lattices are subjected to a constant electric field, they respond by oscillating. Here we demonstrate that the magnetic analogue of these Bloch oscillations are realised in a ferromagnetic easy axis chain. In this case, the "particles" undergoing oscillatory motion in the presence of a magnetic field are domain walls. Inelastic neutron scattering reveals three distinct components of the low energy spin-dynamics including a signature Bloch oscillation mode. Using parameter-free theoretical calculations, we are able to account for all features in the excitation spectrum, thus providing detailed insights into the complex dynamics in spin-anisotropic chains.