Ultrafast light controls ferromagnetism without heating

A study reported by Phys.org describes a method to control ferromagnetism using ultrashort light pulses without heating the material. The approach could enable faster and more energy-efficient magnetic data storage.

• Ultrafast light manipulates magnetization without heating the material
• The method could speed up and cut the cost of magnetic data storage
• Magnetization underpins hard drives, computer memory and credit cards