  Ultrafast control of the magnetization in ps timescales by fs laser pulses
offers an attractive avenue for applications such as fast magnetic devices for
logic and memory. However, ultrafast helicity-independent all-optical switching
(HI-AOS) of the magnetization has thus far only been observed in Gd-based,
ferrimagnetic amorphous (\textit{a}-) rare earth-transition metal
(\textit{a}-RE-TM) systems, and a comprehensive understanding of the reversal
mechanism remains elusive. Here, we report HI-AOS in ferrimagnetic
\textit{a}-Gd$_{22-x}$Tb$_x$Co$_{78}$ thin films, from x = 0 to x = 18, and
elucidate the role of Gd in HI-AOS in \textit{a}-RE-TM alloys and multilayers.
Increasing Tb content results in increasing perpendicular magnetic anisotropy
and coercivity, without modifying magnetization density, and slower
remagnetization rates and higher critical fluences for switching but still
shows picosecond HI-AOS. Simulations of the atomistic spin dynamics based on
the two-temperature model reproduce these results qualitatively and predict
that the lower damping on the RE sublattice arising from the small spin-orbit
coupling of Gd (with $L = 0$) is instrumental for the faster dynamics and lower
critical fluences of the Gd-rich alloys. Annealing
\textit{a}-Gd$_{10}$Tb$_{12}$Co$_{78}$ leads to slower dynamics which we argue
is due to an increase in damping. These simulations strongly indicate that
acounting for element-specific damping is crucial in understanding HI-AOS
phenomena. The results suggest that engineering the element specific damping of
materials can open up new classes of materials that exhibit low-energy,
ultrafast HI-AOS.
