Spin-orbitronics: controlling magnets with electric currents
Prof. Dr. Pietro Gambardella (Department of Materials, ETH Zürich, Switzerland)

The coupling of spin and orbital angular momenta underlies the magnetoelectric properties of matter. Although small, the spin-orbit interaction determines the equilibrium properties of magnets as well as the possibility to excite the magnetization out of equilibrium while ensuring the conservation of angular momentum. In this talk, I will review prominent mechanisms due to spin-orbit coupling that give rise to spin currents in ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic heterostructures, showing how unusual magnetoresistance [1] and spin torque [2-4] phenomena emerge from charge-spin conversion in these materials. Finally, I will present recent results based on pump-probe magneto-optic experiments that allow us to measure the spin Hall effect in nonmagnetic conductors [5] and image current-induced magnetization switching of ferromagnetic dots on a timescale of 100 ps [6].