RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Transient lattice contraction in the solid-to-plasma transition
JF Science Advances
JO Sci Adv
FD American Association for the Advancement of Science
SP e1500837
DO 10.1126/sciadv.1500837
VO 2
IS 1
A1 Ferguson, Ken R.
A1 Bucher, Maximilian
A1 Gorkhover, Tais
A1 Boutet, Sébastien
A1 Fukuzawa, Hironobu
A1 Koglin, Jason E.
A1 Kumagai, Yoshiaki
A1 Lutman, Alberto
A1 Marinelli, Agostino
A1 Messerschmidt, Marc
A1 Nagaya, Kiyonobu
A1 Turner, Jim
A1 Ueda, Kiyoshi
A1 Williams, Garth J.
A1 Bucksbaum, Philip H.
A1 Bostedt, Christoph
YR 2016
UL http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/2/1/e1500837.abstract
AB In condensed matter systems, strong optical excitations can induce phonon-driven processes that alter their mechanical properties. We report on a new phenomenon where a massive electronic excitation induces a collective change in the bond character that leads to transient lattice contraction. Single large van der Waals clusters were isochorically heated to a nanoplasma state with an intense 10-fs x-ray (pump) pulse. The structural evolution of the nanoplasma was probed with a second intense x-ray (probe) pulse, showing systematic contraction stemming from electron delocalization during the solid-to-plasma transition. These findings are relevant for any material in extreme conditions ranging from the time evolution of warm or hot dense matter to ultrafast imaging with intense x-ray pulses or, more generally, any situation that involves a condensed matter-to-plasma transition.