Ultrafast magnetic dynamics in insulating YBa₂Cu₃O_6+x revealed by time resolved two-magnon Raman Scattering.

Measurement and control of magnetic order and correlations in real time is a rapidly developing scientific area relevant for magnetic memory and spintronics. In these experiments an ultrashort laser pulse (pump) is first absorbed by excitations carrying electric dipole moment. These then give their energy to the magnetic subsystem monitored by a time-resolved probe. A lot of progress has been made in investigations of ferromagnets but antiferromagnets are more challenging. Here we introduce time-resolved two-magnon Raman scattering as a novel real time probe of magnetic correlations especially well-suited for antiferromagnets. Its application to antiferromagnetic charge transfer insulator YBa₂Cu₃O_6+x revealed rapid demagnetization within 90fs of photoexcitation. The relaxation back to thermal equilibrium is characterized by much slower timescales. One of these, which is extremely slow, indicates a novel metastable state hosting trapped charge carriers.