Excitations with negative dispersion in a spin vortex

Micron-sized ferromagnetic permalloy disks having an in-plane vortexlike configuration are excited by a fast-rise-time magnetic-field pulse perpendicular to the plane. The excited modes are imaged using time-resolved magneto-optic Kerr microscopy and Fourier transformation. Two types of modes are observed: modes with circular nodes and modes with diametric nodes. The frequency of the modes with circular nodes increases with the number of nodes. In contrast, the frequency of the modes with diametric nodes decreases with the number of nodes. This behavior is explained accurately by an analytical model.