Laboratoire de Physique Théorique
Toulouse - UMR 5152

Magnetic materials lacking inversion symmetry constitute a unique platform for the exploration and control of magnetism. In these systems, typically multilayers of transition metal ferromagnets and heavy metals (W, Pt, Bi2Se3 etc.), interfacial spin-orbit coupling promotes a wealth of physical phenomena, among which the emergence of magnetic skyrmions, spin-to-charge conversion, spin-orbit torques, as well as chiral magnetic damping. In this presentation, I will first discuss the nature of interfacial spin-orbit coupling in magnetic multilayers and examine how it promotes spin-orbit torques. I will review various key aspects of this torque (symmetries and physical origin) and will discuss in particular a newly discovered component that allows for field-free switching. In a second part, I will discuss how this torque can be used to electrically manipulate and excite antiferromagnetic materials, a class of materials that can support ultrafast THz excitations.