  We develop a theory of the spin wave dynamics excited by ultrafast focused
laser pulses in a magnetic film. We take into account both volume and surface
spin wave modes in the presence of applied, dipolar and magnetic anisotropy
fields and include the dependence on laser spot exposure size and magnetic
damping. We show that the sound waves generated by local heating by an
ultrafast focused laser pulse can excite a wide spectrum of spin waves (on top
of a dominant magnon-phonon contribution). Good agreement with recent
experiments supports the validity of the model.
