Photoinduced melting of magnetic order in the correlated electron insulator NdNiO3

Using ultrafast resonant soft x-ray diffraction, we demonstrate photoinduced melting of antiferromagnetic order in the correlated electron insulator NdNiO3. Time-dependent analysis of the resonant diffraction spectra allows us to follow the temporal evolution of the charge imbalance between adjacent Ni sites. A direct correlation between the melting of magnetic order and charge rebalancing is found. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the magnetic ordering on the Ni and Nd sites, which are locked together in equilibrium, become decoupled during this nonthermal process.