Structural and magnetic dynamics of a laser induced phase transition in FeRh

We use time-resolved x-ray diffraction and magneto-optical Kerr effect to study the laser-induced antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic phase transition in FeRh. The structural response is given by the nucleation of independent ferromagnetic domains (τ ₁∼30ps). This is significantly faster than the magnetic response (τ ₂∼60ps) given by the subsequent domain realignment. X-ray diffraction shows that the two phases coexist on short time scales and that the phase transition is limited by the speed of sound. A nucleation model describing both the structural and magnetic dynamics is presented.