Beyond a phenomenological description of magnetostriction

We use ultrafast x-ray and electron diffraction to disentangle spin-lattice coupling of granular FePt in the time domain. The reduced dimensionality of single-crystalline FePt nanoparticles leads to strong coupling of magnetic order and a highly anisotropic three-dimensional lattice motion characterized by a- and b-axis expansion and c-axis contraction. The resulting increase of the FePt lattice tetragonality, the key quantity determining the energy barrier between opposite FePt magnetization orientations, persists for tens of picoseconds. These results suggest a novel approach to laser-assisted magnetic switching in future data storage applications.