Modeling lattice interaction in non-equilibrium pump-probe experiments

ORAL

Abstract

In past years, advances is experimental laser technology have allowed for the study of materials at ever shorter timescales. In these pump-probe experiments, after excitation by the pulse, the systems evolve back to equilibrium through its inherent relaxation processes, which are typically temporally separated by their characteristic timescales. Among the slower processes are the electron-phonon interactions, which carry the majority of the energy transferred to the electrons away into the lattice. We present a direct calculation of the characteristic timescales for systems driven out of equilibrium via a short pulse and allowed to relax via electron-phonon interactions. We make a direct connection between the observable timescales and the microscopic specifics, both via decay rates and oscillations in various photon-spectroscopies.

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Authors

  • Alexander Kemper

    Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Science, Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Science, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

  • Michael Sentef

    Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Science

  • Brian Moritz

    SIMES, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University, Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Science, Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Science, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA

  • Tom Devereaux

    Department of Physics, Stanford University, Stanford, SIMES, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University, Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Science, Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Science, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, 2575 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA, Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Science, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University