Spin-wave activation by spin-polarized current pulse in magnetic nanopillars

We demonstrate the role of spin-polarized current pulse in activating only a subset of spin-wave normal modes in laterally confined magnetic systems. In order to derive selection rules based on geometrical considerations, the study was carried out by comparing the results of two different micromagnetic frameworks (a classical finite-difference time-domain scheme and the dynamical matrix method) and considering nanopillar devices of elliptical and circular cross-sections in different magnetic ground states (onion, S, and vortex states). The analogies and the differences existing between the mode activation process driven by spin-torque and that obtained by a magnetic field pulse are also addressed.