Dr Thomas Ostler BSc Hons, PhD, MInstP

Tom began his postdoctoral positions at the University of York working jointly as a project manager for a collaborative EU FP7 project on ultrafast magnetism involving 9 universities from across Europe, and Seagate Technology. In 2015 he moved to the University of Exeter to work as a senior postdoctoral research fellow in the Group of Prof Gino Hrkac on functional materials on an EPSRC project with the University of Manchester.

In 2015 Tom was awarded a Marie Curie BeIPD COFUND project at the University of Liège hosted by the Nanomaterials group of Prof Matthieu Verstraete. The project involved using electronic structure calculations to fit second principles Hamiltonians to study the dynamics of magnetic and multiferroic materials.

Tom is also a committee member for qan EU COST project (CA17123-MAGNETOFON - Ultrafast opto-magneto-electronics for non-dissipative information technology) and an elected member of the Institute of Physics Magnetism working group. 

Details of Grants/Awards:

- 14k GPU hours on the Cambridge Service for Data Driven Discovery (CSD3) operated by the University of Cambridge Research Computing Service, provided by Dell EMC and Intel using Tier-2 funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (capital grant EP/P020259/1), and DiRAC funding from the Science and Technology Facilities Council. 
- Travel award under COST Action P19 (Multiscale Modeling of Materials) - €1750.
- Marie Curie Incoming (COFUND) Fellow at the University of Liège – salary (2 years) + €16K expenses (travel, consumables, equipment).
- Accomodation award under COST Action MP1306 (Training workshop for SPR-KKR code), €276.

Specialist areas of interest:
- Multiscale modelling
- Optical switching
- Ultrafast spin dynamics
- GPU computing
- Interface magnetism.

Department of Engineering and Mathematics

Business, Technology and Enterprise

Subject Area/Group: Physics

Modules:
- Quantum and Condensed Matter Physics (joint with Simon Clark), BSc (Hons) Physics;
- Applied Engineering Mathematics Tutorials;
- The Professional and Practical Physicists, BSc (Hons) Physics;
- Introduction to Condensed Matter Physics, BSc (Hons) Physics

• Materials and Engineering Research Institute

Research Gate and Google Scholar profiles.

Past/Selected Projects:
- Marie Curie COFUND: Modeling of Multiferroic Materials, 2015-2017.

Collaborators:
- Prof Matthieu Verstraete – University of Liège, Belgium.
- Prof Roy Chantrell – The University of York.
- Prof Gino Hrkac – The University of Exeter.
- Dr Stuart Cavill – The University of York and Diamon Light Source.
- Dr Ilie Radu – Max Born Institute, Berlin.
- Prof Andreas Scherz – European XFEL, Hamburg.
- Prof Tom Thomson – The University of Manchester.
- Dr Unai Atxitia – The University of Konstanz, Germany.
- Dr Oksana Chubykalo-Fesenko, ICMM, Madrid.
- Dr Chudong Xu, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China.
- Prof Kaushik Roy, Purdue University, USA.
- Prof Hermann Dürr, SLAC, CA, USA.
- Dr Matthew Ellis, Trinity College, Dublin.
- Prof Aldo Romero, West Virginia State University, USA.
- Dr Ezio Iacocca, University of Colorado, Bolder, USA.
- Dr Zubair Al Azim, Intel, CA, USA.

Journal articles

Jakobs, F., Ostler, T., Lambert, C.H., Yang, Y., Salahuddin, S., Wilson, R.B., ... Atxitia, U. (2021). Unifying femtosecond and picosecond single-pulse magnetic switching in GdFeCo. Physical Review B (Condensed Matter), 103 (10), 104422. http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.103.104422

Ceballos, A., Pattabi, A., El-Ghazaly, A., Ruta, S., Simon, C.P., Evans, R.F.L., ... Hellman, F. (2021). Role of element-specific damping in ultrafast, helicity-independent, all-optical switching dynamics in amorphous (Gd,Tb)Co thin films. Physical Review B, 103 (2), 024438. http://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.103.024438

Skelland, C., Westmoreland, S.C., Ostler, T., Evans, R.F.L., Chantrell, R.W., Yano, M., ... Hrkac, G. (2020). Atomistic study on the pressure dependence of the melting point of NdFe12. AIP Advances, 10, 025130. http://doi.org/10.1063/1.5130450

Skelland, C., Ostler, T., Westmoreland, S.C., Evans, R.F.L., Chantrell, R.W., Yano, M., ... Hrkac, G. (2019). The Effect of Interstitial Nitrogen Addition on the Structural Properties of Supercells of NdFe12-xTix x. IEEE Transactions on Magnetics, 55 (10), 1-5. http://doi.org/10.1109/tmag.2019.2920214

Iacocca, E., Liu, T.M., Reid, A.H., Fu, Z., Ruta, S., Granitzka, P.W., ... Durr, H.A. (2019). Spin-current-mediated rapid magnon localisation and coalescence after ultrafast optical pumping of ferrimagnetic alloys. Nature communications, 10 (1756). http://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-09577-0

Azim, Z.A., Ostler, T., Xu, C., & Roy, K. (2019). Optical receiver with helicity-dependent magnetization eversal. IEEE transactions on magnetics, 55 (1). https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8544040

Atxitia, U., & Ostler, T. (2018). Ultrafast double magnetization switching in GdFeCo with two picosecond-delayed femtosecond pump pulses. Applied Physics Letters, 113 (6), 062402. http://doi.org/10.1063/1.5044272

Lu, X., Zou, X., Hinzke, D., Liu, T., Wang, Y., Cheng, T., ... Xu, Y. (2018). Roles of heating and helicity in ultrafast all-optical magnetization switching in TbFeCo. Applied Physics Letters, 113 (3), 032405. http://doi.org/10.1063/1.5036720

Skelland, C., Ostler, T., Westmoreland, S., Evans, R.F.L., Chantrell, R.W., Yano, M., ... Hrkac, G. (2018). Probability distribution of substituted titanium in RT12 (R = Nd and Sm; T = Fe and Co) structures. IEEE Transactions on Magnetics. http://doi.org/10.1109/TMAG.2018.2832603

Di Gennaro, M., Miranda, A.L., Ostler, T., Romero, A.H., & Verstraete, M.J. (2018). Competition of lattice and spin excitations in the temperature dependence of spin-wave properties. Physical Review B (PRB), 97 (21). http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.97.214417

Cuadrado, R., Oroszlány, L., Deák, A., Ostler, T., Meo, A., Chepulskii, R., ... Chantrell, R. (2018). Site-resolved contributions to the magnetic anisotropy energy and complex spin structure of Fe/MgO sandwiches. Physical Review Applied, 9 (054048). http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevApplied.9.054048

Cuadrado, R., Oroszlány, L., Szunyogh, L., Hrkac, G., Chantrell, R., & Ostler, T. (2018). A multiscale model of the effect of Ir thickness on the static and dynamic properties of Fe/Ir/Fe films. Scientific Reports, 8 (3879), 1-13. http://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-21934-5

Moreno, R., Ostler, T., Chantrell, R., & Chubykalo-Fesenko, O. (2017). Conditions for thermally induced all-optical switching in ferrimagnetic alloys: Modeling of TbCo. Physical Review B (PRB), 96 (014409). http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.96.014409

Barton, C.W., Ostler, T., Huskisson, D., Kinane, C.J., Haigh, S.J., Hrkac, G., & Thomson, T. (2017). Substrate Induced Strain Field in FeRh Epilayers Grown on Single Crystal MgO (001) Substrates. Scientific Reports, 7 (44397). http://doi.org/10.1038/srep44397

Ostler, T., Barton, C., Thomson, T., & Hrkac, G. (2017). Modeling the thickness dependence of the magnetic phase transition temperature in thin FeRh films. Physical Review B, 95 (6), 064415. http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.95.064415

Atkinson, L.J., Ostler, T., Hovorka, O., Wang, K.K., Lu, B., Ju, G.P., ... Chantrell, R.W. (2016). Effects of interactions on the relaxation processes in magnetic nanostructures. Physical Review B, 94 (13), 134431. http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.94.134431

Xu, C., Ostler, T., & Chantrell, R.W. (2016). Thermally induced magnetization switching in Gd/Fe multilayers. Physical Review B, 93 (5), 054302. http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.93.054302

Atxitia, U., Ostler, T., Chantrell, R.W., & Chubykalo-Fesenko, O. (2015). Optimal electron, phonon, and magnetic characteristics for low energy thermally induced magnetization switching. Applied Physics Letters, 107 (19), 192402. http://doi.org/10.1063/1.4935416

Radu, I., Stamm, C., Eschenlohr, A., Radu, F., Abrudan, R., Vahaplar, K., ... Rasing, T. (2015). Ultrafast and Distinct Spin Dynamics in Magnetic Alloys. SPIN, 5 (3), 1550004. http://doi.org/10.1142/S2010324715500046

Ostler, T., Cuadrado, R., Chantrell, R.W., Rushforth, A.W., & Cavill, S.A. (2015). Strain Induced Vortex Core Switching in Planar Magnetostrictive Nanostructures. Physical Review Letters, 115 (6), 067202. http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.067202

Ellis, M.O.A., Evans, R.F.L., Ostler, T., Barker, J., Atxitia, U., & Chantrell, R.W. (2015). The Landau-Lifshitz equation in atomistic models. Low Temperature Physics, 41 (9), 1-9. http://doi.org/10.1063/1.4930971

Ellis, M.O.A., Evans, R.F.L., Ostler, T.A., Barker, J., Atxitia, U., Chubykalo-Fesenko, O., & Chantrell, R.W. (2015). The Landau-Lifshitz equation in atomistic models. Fizika Nizkikh Temperatur, 41 (9), 908-916.

Azim, Z.A., Fong, X., Ostler, T., Chantrell, R., & Roy, K. (2014). Laser Induced Magnetization Reversal for Detection in Optical Interconnects. IEEE Electron Device Letters, 35 (12), 1317-1319. http://doi.org/10.1109/LED.2014.2364232

Ostler, T., Ellis, M.O.A., Hinzke, D., & Nowak, U. (2014). Temperature-dependent ferromagnetic resonance via the Landau-Lifshitz-Bloch equation: Application to FePt. Physical Review B, 90 (9), 094402. http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.90.094402

Evans, R.F.L., Ostler, T., Chantrell, R.W., Radu, I., & Rasing, T. (2014). Ultrafast thermally induced magnetic switching in synthetic ferrimagnets. Applied Physics Letters, 104 (8), 082410. http://doi.org/10.1063/1.4867015

Evans, R.F.L., Fan, W.J., Chureemart, P., Ostler, T., Ellis, M.O.A., & Chantrell, R.W. (2014). Atomistic spin model simulations of magnetic nanomaterials. Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, 26 (10), 103202. http://doi.org/10.1088/0953-8984/26/10/103202

Barker, J., Atxitia, U., Ostler, T., Hovorka, O., Chantrell, R.W., Chubykalo-Fesenko, O., & Chantrell, R.W. (2013). Two-magnon bound state causes ultrafast thermally induced magnetisation switching. Scientific Reports, 3, 3262. http://doi.org/10.1038/srep03262

Atxitia, U., Ostler, T., Barker, J., Evans, R.F.L., Chantrell, R.W., & Chubykalo-Fesenko, O. (2013). Ultrafast dynamical path for the switching of a ferrimagnet after femtosecond heating. Physical Review B, 87 (22), 224417. http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.87.224417

Ellis, M.O.A., Ostler, T., & Chantrell, R.W. (2012). Classical spin model of the relaxation dynamics of rare-earth doped permalloy. Physical Review B, 86 (17), 174418. http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.86.174418

Ostler, T., Barker, J., Evans, R.F.L., Chantrell, R.W., Atxitia, U., Chubykalo-Fesenko, O., ... Kimel, A.V. (2012). Ultrafast heating as a sufficient stimulus for magnetization reversal in a ferrimagnet. Nature Communications, 3, 666. http://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms1666

Ostler, T., Evans, R.F.L., Chantrell, R.W., Atxitia, U., Chubykalo-Fesenko, O., Radu, I., ... Kimel, A.V. (2011). Crystallographically amorphous ferrimagnetic alloys : comparing a localized atomistic spin model with experiments. Physical Review B, 84 (2), 024407. http://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.84.024407

Radu, I., Vahaplar, K., Stamm, C., Kachel, T., Pontius, N., Dürr, H., ... Kimel, A.V. (2011). Transient ferromagnetic-like state mediating ultrafast reversal of antiferromagnetically coupled spins. Nature, 472 (7342), 205-208. http://doi.org/10.1038/nature09901

Conference papers

Ostler, T., Barker, J., Evans, R.F.L., Atxitia, U., Chantrell, R.W., Hovorka, O., & Chubykalo-Fesenko, O. (2015). Multiscale modeling of ultrafast magnetization dynamics. In Bigot, J.-.Y., Hübner, W., Rasing, T., & Chantrell, R. (Eds.) Ultrafast Magnetism I : Proceedings of the International Conference, UMC 2013 Strasbourg, France, October 28th - November 1st, 2013, (pp. 146-149). Cham: Springer International Publishing: http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-07743-7_47

Chubykalo-Fesenko, O., Nieves, P., Atxitia, U., Ostler, T., & Chantrell, R.W. (2015). Optimising materials for energy-efficient all-optical magnetic switching. Proceedings - EUROCON 2015. http://doi.org/10.1109/EUROCON.2015.7313753

Atxitia, U., Ostler, T.A., Chubykalo-Fesenko, O., & Chantrell, R. (2015). Energy efficient thermally induced magnetization switching by tailoring the electron and phonon dynamics. 2015 IEEE International Magnetics Conference, INTERMAG 2015. http://doi.org/10.1109/INTMAG.2015.7157092

Radu, I., Stamm, C., Eschenlohr, A., Radu, F., Abrudan, R., Vahaplar, K., ... Rasing, T.H. (2015). Engineering ultrafast magnetism. Springer Proceedings in Physics, 159, 297-299. http://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-07743-7_92

Radu, I., Vahaplar, K., Stamm, C., Kachel, T., Pontius, N., Radu, F., ... Kimel, A. (2012). Ultrafast magnetism as seen by x-rays. Proceedings of SPIE : Ultrafast Phenomena and Nanophotonics XVI, 8260. http://doi.org/10.1117/12.907433

Ad Hoc Reviewer: Nature Light: Science and Applications, Nature Scientific Reports, Phys. Rev. Lett., Phys. Rev. B, Phys. Rev. Appl., Phys. Rev. E., Journal of Alloys and Compounds, JAP, JMMM, APL, IEEE Trans Magn, MMM Annual Conf. Proc.
Reviewer of Grants for External Organisations: Deutsche Forschungsgemeimschaft (DFG).
Conference and Workshop Organisation and Session Chairs:
2019 – IOP Magnetism Conference, Leeds, UK – Joint Programme Chair.
2015 – EMN Ultrafast Meeting on Ultrafast, Las Vegas – International Program Committee.
2015 – Ultrafast Magnetism Conference, Nijmegen, The Netherlands – Chair of session “Ultrafast Magnetic Control”.
2016 – Sol-SkyMag, San Sebastian, Spina – Chair of session “Spintronics and Spin Orbit Effects”.