1. |
- Cavalieri, A L, et al.
(författare)
-
Clocking femtosecond X rays.
- 2005
-
Ingår i: Phys Rev Lett. - 0031-9007. ; 94:11
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Linear-accelerator-based sources will revolutionize ultrafast x-ray science due to their unprecedented brightness and short pulse duration. However, time-resolved studies at the resolution of the x-ray pulse duration are hampered by the inability to precisely synchronize an external laser to the accelerator. At the Sub-Picosecond Pulse Source at the Stanford Linear-Accelerator Center we solved this problem by measuring the arrival time of each high energy electron bunch with electro-optic sampling. This measurement indirectly determined the arrival time of each x-ray pulse relative to an external pump laser pulse with a time resolution of better than 60 fs rms.
|
|
2. |
- Pedersoli, E., et al.
(författare)
-
Mesoscale morphology of airborne core-shell nanoparticle clusters : x-ray laser coherent diffraction imaging
- 2013
-
Ingår i: Journal of Physics B. - : IOP Publishing. - 0953-4075 .- 1361-6455. ; 46:16 SI, s. 164033-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Unraveling the complex morphology of functional materials like core-shell nanoparticles and its evolution in different environments is still a challenge. Only recently has the single-particle coherent diffraction imaging (CDI), enabled by the ultrabright femtosecond free-electron laser pulses, provided breakthroughs in understanding mesoscopic morphology of nanoparticulate matter. Here, we report the first CDI results for Co@SiO2 core-shell nanoparticles randomly clustered in large airborne aggregates, obtained using the x-ray free-electron laser at the Linac Coherent Light Source. Our experimental results compare favourably with simulated diffraction patterns for clustered Co@SiO2 nanoparticles with similar to 10 nm core diameter and similar to 30 nm shell outer diameter, which confirms the ability to resolve the mesoscale morphology of complex metastable structures. The findings in this first morphological study of core-shell nanomaterials are a solid base for future time-resolved studies of dynamic phenomena in complex nanoparticulate matter using x-ray lasers.
|
|
3. |
- Gaffney, K J, et al.
(författare)
-
Observation of structural anisotropy and the onset of liquidlike motion during the nonthermal melting of InSb
- 2005
-
Ingår i: Physical Review Letters. - : American Physical Society. - 0031-9007 .- 1079-7114. ; 95:12
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The melting dynamics of laser excited InSb have been studied with femtosecond x-ray diffraction. These measurements observe the delayed onset of diffusive atomic motion, signaling the appearance of liquidlike dynamics. They also demonstrate that the root-mean-squared displacement in the [111] direction increases faster than in the [110] direction after the first 500 fs. This structural anisotropy indicates that the initially generated fluid differs significantly from the equilibrium liquid.
|
|
4. |
- Fritz, D. M., et al.
(författare)
-
Ultrafast bond softening in bismuth : Mapping a solid's interatomic potential with X-rays
- 2007
-
Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 0036-8075 .- 1095-9203. ; 315:5812, s. 633-636
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Intense femtosecond laser excitation can produce transient states of matter that would otherwise be inaccessible to laboratory investigation. At high excitation densities, the interatomic forces that bind solids and determine many of their properties can be substantially altered. Here, we present the detailed mapping of the carrier density-dependent interatomic potential of bismuth approaching a solid-solid phase transition. Our experiments combine stroboscopic techniques that use a high-brightness linear electron accelerator-based x-ray source with pulse-by-pulse timing reconstruction for femtosecond resolution, allowing quantitative characterization of the interatomic potential energy surface of the highly excited solid.
|
|
5. |
- Loh, N. D., et al.
(författare)
-
Fractal morphology, imaging and mass spectrometry of single aerosol particles in flight
- 2012
-
Ingår i: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 486:7404, s. 513-517
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The morphology of micrometre-size particulate matter is of critical importance in fields ranging from toxicology(1) to climate science(2), yet these properties are surprisingly difficult to measure in the particles' native environment. Electron microscopy requires collection of particles on a substrate(3); visible light scattering provides insufficient resolution(4); and X-ray synchrotron studies have been limited to ensembles of particles(5). Here we demonstrate an in situ method for imaging individual sub-micrometre particles to nanometre resolution in their native environment, using intense, coherent X-ray pulses from the Linac Coherent Light Source(6) free-electron laser. We introduced individual aerosol particles into the pulsed X-ray beam, which is sufficiently intense that diffraction from individual particles can be measured for morphological analysis. At the same time, ion fragments ejected from the beam were analysed using mass spectrometry, to determine the composition of single aerosol particles. Our results show the extent of internal dilation symmetry of individual soot particles subject to non-equilibrium aggregation, and the surprisingly large variability in their fractal dimensions. More broadly, our methods can be extended to resolve both static and dynamic morphology of general ensembles of disordered particles. Such general morphology has implications in topics such as solvent accessibilities in proteins(7), vibrational energy transfer by the hydrodynamic interaction of amino acids(8), and large-scale production of nanoscale structures by flame synthesis(9).
|
|
6. |
- Lindenberg, A. M., et al.
(författare)
-
X-ray diffuse scattering measurements of nucleation dynamics at femtosecond resolution.
- 2008
-
Ingår i: Physical Review Letters. - 0031-9007 .- 1079-7114. ; 100:13, s. 135502-1-135502-5
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Femtosecond time-resolved small and wide angle x-ray diffuse scattering techniques are applied to investigate the ultrafast nucleation processes that occur during the ablation process in semiconducting materials. Following intense optical excitation, a transient liquid state of high compressibility characterized by large-amplitude density fluctuations is observed and the buildup of these fluctuations is measured in real time. Small-angle scattering measurements reveal snapshots of the spontaneous nucleation of nanoscale voids within a metastable liquid and support theoretical predictions of the ablation process.
|
|
7. |
- Duane Loh, N., et al.
(författare)
-
Profiling structured beams using injected aerosols
- 2012
-
Ingår i: Proceedings of SPIE. - : SPIE. - 9780819492210 ; , s. 850403-
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Profiling structured beams produced by X-ray free-electron lasers (FELs) is crucial to both maximizing signal intensity for weakly scattering targets and interpreting their scattering patterns. Earlier ablative imprint studies describe how to infer the X-ray beam profile from the damage that an attenuated beam inflicts on a substrate. However, the beams in-situ profile is not directly accessible with imprint studies because the damage profile could be different from the actual beam profile. On the other hand, although a Shack-Hartmann sensor is capable of in-situ profiling, its lenses may be quickly damaged at the intense focus of hard X-ray FEL beams. We describe a new approach that probes the in-situ morphology of the intense FEL focus. By studying the translations in diffraction patterns from an ensemble of randomly injected sub-micron latex spheres, we were able to determine the non-Gaussian nature of the intense FEL beam at the Linac Coherent Light Source (SLAC National Laboratory) near the FEL focus. We discuss an experimental application of such a beam-profiling technique, and the limitations we need to overcome before it can be widely applied.
|
|
8. |
- Hillyard, P. B., et al.
(författare)
-
Carrier-density-dependent lattice stability in InSb
- 2007
-
Ingår i: Physical Review Letters. - 0031-9007 .- 1079-7114. ; 98:12, s. 125501-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The ultrafast decay of the x-ray diffraction intensity following laser excitation of an InSb crystal has been utilized to observe carrier dependent changes in the potential energy surface. For the first time, an abrupt carrier dependent onset for potential energy surface softening and the appearance of accelerated atomic disordering for a very high average carrier density have been observed. Inertial dynamics dominate the early stages of crystal disordering for a wide range of carrier densities between the onset of crystal softening and the appearance of accelerated atomic disordering.
|
|
9. |
- Barillot, T., et al.
(författare)
-
Correlation-Driven Transient Hole Dynamics Resolved in Space and Time in the Isopropanol Molecule
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Physical Review X. - : American Physical Society. - 2160-3308. ; 11:3
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The possibility of suddenly ionized molecules undergoing extremely fast electron hole (or hole) dynamics prior to significant structural change was first recognized more than 20 years ago and termed charge migration. The accurate probing of ultrafast electron hole dynamics requires measurements that have both sufficient temporal resolution and can detect the localization of a specific hole within the molecule. We report an investigation of the dynamics of inner valence hole states in isopropanol where we use an x-ray pump-x-ray probe experiment, with site and state-specific probing of a transient hole state localized near the oxygen atom in the molecule, together with an ab initio theoretical treatment. We record the signature of transient hole dynamics and make the first tentative observation of dynamics driven by frustrated Auger-Meitner transitions. We verify that the effective hole lifetime is consistent with our theoretical prediction. This state-specific measurement paves the way to widespread application for observations of transient hole dynamics localized in space and time in molecules and thus to charge transfer phenomena that are fundamental in chemical and material physics.
|
|
10. |
- Sanchez-Gonzalez, A., et al.
(författare)
-
Auger electron and photoabsorption spectra of glycine in the vicinity of the oxygen K-edge measured with an X-FEL
- 2015
-
Ingår i: Journal of Physics B-Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics. - : IOP Publishing. - 0953-4075 .- 1361-6455. ; 48:23
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report the first measurement of the near oxygen K-edge auger spectrum of the glycine molecule. Our work employed an x-ray free electron laser as the photon source operated with input photon energies tunable between 527 and 547 eV. Complete electron spectra were recorded at each photon energy in the tuning range, revealing resonant and non-resonant auger structures. Finally ab initio theoretical predictions are compared with the measured above the edge auger spectrum and an assignment of auger decay channels is performed.
|
|
11. |
- Cryan, James P., et al.
(författare)
-
Auger Electron Angular Distribution of Double Core-Hole States in the Molecular Reference Frame
- 2010
-
Ingår i: Physical Review Letters. - 0031-9007 .- 1079-7114. ; 105:8, s. 083004-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Linac Coherent Light Source free electron laser is a source of high brightness x rays, 2×1011 photons in a ∼5 fs pulse, that can be focused to produce double core vacancies through rapid sequential ionization. This enables double core vacancy Auger electron spectroscopy, an entirely new way to study femtosecond chemical dynamics with Auger electrons that probe the local valence structure of molecules near a specific atomic core. Using 1.1 keV photons for sequential x-ray ionization of impulsively aligned molecular nitrogen, we observed a rich single-site double core vacancy Auger electron spectrum near 413 eV, in good agreement with ab initio calculations, and we measured the corresponding Auger electron angle dependence in the molecular frame.
|
|
12. |
- Cryan, J P, et al.
(författare)
-
Molecular frame Auger electron energy spectrum from N2
- 2012
-
Ingår i: Journal of Physics B. - : IOP Publishing. - 0953-4075 .- 1361-6455. ; 45:5, s. 055601-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Here we present the first angle-resolved, non-resonant (normal) Auger spectra for impulsively aligned nitrogen molecules. We have measured the angular pattern of Auger electron emission following K -shell photoionization by 1.1 keV photons from the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS). Using strong-field-induced molecular alignment to make molecular frame measurements is equally effective for both repulsive and quasi-bound final states. The capability to resolve Auger emission angular distributions in the molecular frame of reference provides a new tool for spectral assignments in congested Auger electron spectra that takes advantage of the symmetries of the final diction states. Based on our experimental results and theoretical predictions, we propose the assignment of the spectral features in the Auger electron spectrum.
|
|
13. |
- Gabrysch, Markus, et al.
(författare)
-
Formation of secondary electron cascades in single-crystalline plasma-deposited diamond upon exposure to femtosecond x-ray pulses
- 2008
-
Ingår i: Journal of Applied Physics. - : AIP Publishing. - 0021-8979 .- 1089-7550. ; 103:6
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Secondary electron cascades were measured in high purity single-crystalline chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamond, following exposure to ultrashort hard x-ray pulses (140 fs full width at half maximum, 8.9 keV energy) from the Sub-Picosecond Pulse Source at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. We report measurements of the pair creation energy and of drift mobility of carriers in two CVD diamond crystals. This was done for the first time using femtosecond x-ray excitation. Values for the average pair creation energy were found to be 12.17 +/- 0.57 and 11.81 +/- 0.59 eV for the two crystals, respectively. These values are in good agreement with recent theoretical predictions. The average drift mobility of carriers, obtained by the best fit to device simulations, was mu(h)= 2750 cm(2)/V s for holes and was mu(e)= 2760 cm(2) / V s for electrons. These mobility values represent lower bounds for charge mobilities due to possible polarization of the samples. The results demonstrate outstanding electric properties and the enormous potential of diamond in ultrafast x-ray detectors.
|
|
14. |
- Sanchez-Gonzalez, A., et al.
(författare)
-
Accurate prediction of X-ray pulse properties from a free-electron laser using machine learning
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 8
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Free-electron lasers providing ultra-short high-brightness pulses of X-ray radiation have great potential for a wide impact on science, and are a critical element for unravelling the structural dynamics of matter. To fully harness this potential, we must accurately know the X-ray properties: intensity, spectrum and temporal profile. Owing to the inherent fluctuations in free-electron lasers, this mandates a full characterization of the properties for each and every pulse. While diagnostics of these properties exist, they are often invasive and many cannot operate at a high-repetition rate. Here, we present a technique for circumventing this limitation. Employing a machine learning strategy, we can accurately predict X-ray properties for every shot using only parameters that are easily recorded at high-repetition rate, by training a model on a small set of fully diagnosed pulses. This opens the door to fully realizing the promise of next-generation high-repetition rate X-ray lasers.
|
|
15. |
- Wolf, T.J.A., et al.
(författare)
-
Transient Resonant Auger-Meitner Spectra of Photoexcited Thymine
- 2021
-
Ingår i: Faraday discussions. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 1364-5498 .- 1359-6640. ; 228, s. 555-70
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present the first investigation of excited state dynamics by resonant Auger-Meitner spectroscopy (also known as resonant Auger spectroscopy) using the nucleobase thymine as an example. Thymine is photoexcited in the UV and probed with X-ray photon energies at and below the oxygen K-edge. After initial photoexcitation to a ππ* excited state, thymine is known to undergo internal conversion to an nπ* excited state with a strong resonance at the oxygen K-edge, red-shifted from the groundstate π* resonances of thymine (see our previous study Wolf et al.,Nat. Commun., 2017,8, 29). We resolve and compare the Auger-Meitner electron spectra associated both with the excited state and ground state resonances, and distinguish participato rand spectator decay contributions. Furthermore, we observe simultaneously with the decay of the nπ* state signatures the appearance of additional resonant Auger-Meitner contributions at photon energies between the nπ* state and the ground state resonances. We assign these contributions to population transfer from the nπ* state to a ππ* triplet state via intersystem crossing on the picosecond timescale based on simulations of the X-ray absorption spectra in the vibrationally hot triplet state. Moreover, we identify signatures from the initially excited ππ* singlet state which we have not observed in our previous study.
|
|
16. |
- Glownia, James M., et al.
(författare)
-
Time-resolved pump-probe experiments at the LCLS
- 2010
-
Ingår i: Optics Express. - 1094-4087. ; 18:17, s. 17620-17630
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The first time-resolved x-ray/optical pump-probe experiments at the SLAC Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) used a combination of feedback methods and post-analysis binning techniques to synchronize an ultrafast optical laser to the linac-based x-ray laser. Transient molecular nitrogen alignment revival features were resolved in time-dependent x-ray-induced fragmentation spectra. These alignment features were used to find the temporal overlap of the pump and probe pulses. The strong-field dissociation of x-ray generated quasi-bound molecular dications was used to establish the residual timing jitter. This analysis shows that the relative arrival time of the Ti:Sapphire laser and the x-ray pulses had a distribution with a standard deviation of approximately 120 fs. The largest contribution to the jitter noise spectrum was the locking of the laser oscillator to the reference RF of the accelerator, which suggests that simple technical improvements could reduce the jitter to better than 50 fs.
|
|
17. |
- Lindenberg, A. M, et al.
(författare)
-
Time-resolved X-ray diffraction from coherent phonons during a laser-induced phase transition
- 2000
-
Ingår i: Physical Review Letters. - 1079-7114. ; 84:1, s. 111-114
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Time-resolved x-ray diffraction with picosecond temporal resolution is used to observe scattering from impulsively generated coherent acoustic phonons in laser-excited InSb crystals. The observed frequencies and damping rates are in agreement with a model based on dynamical diffraction theory coupled to analytic solutions for the laser-induced strain profile. The results are consistent with a 12 ps thermal electron-acoustic phonon coupling time together with an instantaneous component from the deformation-potential interaction. Above a critical laser fluence, we show that the first step in the transition to a disordered state is the excitation of large amplitude, coherent atomic motion.
|
|
18. |
- Wolf, T. J. A., et al.
(författare)
-
Probing molecular photoinduced dynamics by ultrafast soft x-rays
- 2017
-
Ingår i: 2017 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe & European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/Europe-EQEC). 25-29 June 2017, Munich, Germany. - : IEEE. - 9781509067367 - 9781509067374
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Summary form only given. Molecules selectively transform light energy from the sun into other forms of energy like heat, electricity, or chemical energy with high quantum efficiency. The energy conversion process is the result of a correlated motion of electrons and nuclei after photoexcitation, often under breakdown of the Born-Oppenheimer approximation. The element and site selectivity of x-rays allows observing molecular processes from a different point of view compared to ultrafast optical probes [1,2]. I will concentrate on time resolved x-ray absorption spectroscopy. The method provides high selectivity on the transient electronic structure of a molecule. Recently, we establishes this method in the soft x-ray domain for probing ππ* to nπ* transitions, a general and important process for molecular energy conversion. Fig. 1 shows a sketch of thymine, used in the experiment, with one of the oxygen 1s core orbitals and the π,n and π* valence orbitals. While valence orbitals are generally delocalized over the whole molecular body, the lone pair n orbital is essentially an oxygen 2p orbital. An x-ray induced transition from the oxygen 1s to the n orbital will result in a strong absorption maximum in the pre-edge region. We use this feature to probe the molecular dynamics after photoexcitation.
|
|
19. |
- Wolf, T.J.A., et al.
(författare)
-
Probing ultrafast ππ*/nπ* internal conversion in organic chromophores via K-edge resonant absorption
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 8:1
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Many photoinduced processes including photosynthesis and human vision happen in organic molecules and involve coupled femtosecond dynamics of nuclei and electrons. Organic molecules with heteroatoms often possess an important excited-state relaxation channel from an optically allowed ππ* to a dark nπ* state. The ππ*/nπ* internal conversion is difficult to investigate, as most spectroscopic methods are not exclusively sensitive to changes in the excited-state electronic structure. Here, we report achieving the required sensitivity by exploiting the element and site specificity of near-edge soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy. As a hole forms in the n orbital during ππ*/nπ* internal conversion, the absorption spectrum at the heteroatom K-edge exhibits an additional resonance. We demonstrate the concept using the nucleobase thymine at the oxygen K-edge, and unambiguously show that ππ*/nπ* internal conversion takes place within (60 ± 30) fs. High-level-coupled cluster calculations confirm the method’s impressive electronic structure sensitivity for excited-state investigations.
|
|
20. |
|
|
21. |
- McFarland, B. K., et al.
(författare)
-
Ultrafast X-ray Auger probing of photoexcited molecular dynamics
- 2014
-
Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 5, s. 4235-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Molecules can efficiently and selectively convert light energy into other degrees of freedom. Disentangling the underlying ultrafast motion of electrons and nuclei of the photoexcited molecule presents a challenge to current spectroscopic approaches. Here we explore the photoexcited dynamics of molecules by an interaction with an ultrafast X-ray pulse creating a highly localized core hole that decays via Auger emission. We discover that the Auger spectrum as a function of photoexcitation-X-ray-probe delay contains valuable information about the nuclear and electronic degrees of freedom from an element-specific point of view. For the nucleobase thymine, the oxygen Auger spectrum shifts towards high kinetic energies, resulting from a particular C-O bond stretch in the pi pi* photoexcited state. A subsequent shift of the Auger spectrum towards lower kinetic energies displays the electronic relaxation of the initial photoexcited state within 200 fs. Ab-initio simulations reinforce our interpretation and indicate an electronic decay to the n pi* state.
|
|
22. |
- Ravasio, A, et al.
(författare)
-
Single-Shot Diffractive Imaging with a Table-Top Femtosecond Soft X-Ray Laser-Harmonics Source
- 2009
-
Ingår i: Physical Review Letters. - 0031-9007 .- 1079-7114. ; 103:2, s. 028104-
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Coherent x-ray diffractive imaging is a powerful method for studies on nonperiodic structures on the nanoscale. Access to femtosecond dynamics in major physical, chemical, and biological processes requires single-shot diffraction data. Up to now, this has been limited to intense coherent pulses from a free electron laser. Here we show that laser-driven ultrashort x-ray sources offer a comparatively inexpensive alternative. We present measurements of single-shot diffraction patterns from isolated nano-objects with a single 20 fs pulse from a table-top high-harmonic x-ray laser. Images were reconstructed with a resolution of 119 nm from the single shot and 62 nm from multiple shots.
|
|
23. |
- Champenois, Elio G., et al.
(författare)
-
Femtosecond Electronic and Hydrogen Structural Dynamics in Ammonia Imaged with Ultrafast Electron Diffraction
- 2023
-
Ingår i: Physical Review Letters. - : American Physical Society (APS). - 0031-9007 .- 1079-7114. ; 131:14
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Directly imaging structural dynamics involving hydrogen atoms by ultrafast diffraction methods is complicated by their low scattering cross sections. Here we demonstrate that megaelectronvolt ultrafast electron diffraction is sufficiently sensitive to follow hydrogen dynamics in isolated molecules. In a study of the photodissociation of gas phase ammonia, we simultaneously observe signatures of the nuclear and corresponding electronic structure changes resulting from the dissociation dynamics in the time-dependent diffraction. Both assignments are confirmed by ab initio simulations of the photochemical dynamics and the resulting diffraction observable. While the temporal resolution of the experiment is insufficient to resolve the dissociation in time, our results represent an important step towards the observation of proton dynamics in real space and time.
|
|
24. |
- Farrell, J. P., et al.
(författare)
-
Ultrafast X-ray probe of nucleobase photoprotection
- 2012
-
Ingår i: Quantum Electronics and Laser Science Conference. - 9781467318396 ; , s. 6327153-
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- We will present first results of a UV-pump X-ray-probe study of the photoprotection mechanism of thymine. The experiment used element specific Auger spectroscopy and was carried out at the LCLS.
|
|
25. |
- Lindenberg, AM, et al.
(författare)
-
Atomic-scale visualization of inertial dynamics
- 2005
-
Ingår i: Science. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 1095-9203 .- 0036-8075. ; 308:5720, s. 392-395
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The motion of atoms on interatomic potential energy surfaces is fundamental to the dynamics of liquids and solids. An accelerator-based source of femtosecond x-ray pulses allowed us to follow directly atomic displacements on an optically modified energy landscape, leading eventually to the transition from crystalline solid to disordered liquid. We show that, to first order in time, the dynamics are inertial, and we place constraints on the shape and curvature of the transition-state potential energy surface. Our measurements point toward analogies between this nonequilibrium phase transition and the short-time dynamics intrinsic to equilibrium liquids.
|
|