Exchange-enhanced switching by alternating fields in quantum antiferromagnets

Information can be stored magnetically in antiferromagnets ultrafast since their characteristic times are on the picosecond scale. Various spin torques have proven to be important for efficient and high-speed magnetic memories. So far, this has been understood on the classical level by solving the equations of motion for macrospins describing the collective motion of the sublattice magnetizations. Since spins and hence magnetizations are deeply rooted in quantum mechanics, we show that the exchange-enhanced manipulation of sublattice magnetizations extends to quantum antiferromagnets as well. To this end, we solve the time-dependent mean-field equations for the Schwinger boson theory under external alternating magnetic fields. Exchange enhancement persists on the quantum level which includes dephasing effects. Significantly lower fields are sufficient to control the sublattice magnetization than for uniform fields, which holds great promise for the realization of ultrafast magnetic storage devices.