Inverted nucleation for photoinduced nonequilibrium melting.

ABSTRACT: Ultrafast photoinduced melting provides an essential platform for studying nonequilibrium phase transitions by linking the kinetics of electron dynamics to ionic motions. Knowledge of dynamic balance in their energetics is essential to understanding how the ionic reaction is influenced by femtosecond photoexcited electrons with notable time lag depending on reaction mechanisms. Here, by directly imaging fluctuating density distributions and evaluating the ionic pressure and Gibbs free energy from two-temperature molecular dynamics that verified experimental results, we uncovered that transient ionic pressure, triggered by photoexcited electrons, controls the overall melting kinetics. In particular, ultrafast nonequilibrium melting can be described by the reverse nucleation process with voi

SUBMITTER: Hwang J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11092333 | biostudies-literature | 2024 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature