biostudies-literatureUnknown8(29)Gao FYNonequilibrium hidden states provide a unique window into thermally inaccessible regimes of strong coupling between microscopic degrees of freedom in quantum materials. Understanding the origin of these states allows the exploration of far-from-equilibrium thermodynamics and the development of optoelectronic devices with on-demand photoresponses. However, mapping the ultrafast formation of a long-lived hidden phase remains a longstanding challenge since the initial state is not recovered rapidly. Here, using state-of-the-art single-shot spectroscopy techniques, we present a direct ultrafast visualization of the photoinduced phase transition to both transient and long-lived hidden states in an electronic crystal, 1<i>T</i>-TaS₂, and demonstrate a commonality in their microscopic Science advanceseabp9076https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC9307249biostudies-literatureSnapshots of a light-induced metastable hidden phase driven by the collapse of charge order.PMC9307249Ye LNelson KAZhang ZLiu ZJBaldini ECheckelsky JGCheng YHSun ZGao FYfalseSnapshots of a light-induced metastable hidden phase driven by the collapse of charge order.Nonequilibrium hidden states provide a unique window into thermally inaccessible regimes of strong coupling between microscopic degrees of freedom in quantum materials. Understanding the origin of these states allows the exploration of far-from-equilibrium thermodynamics and the development of optoelectronic devices with on-demand photoresponses. However, mapping the ultrafast formation of a long-lived hidden phase remains a longstanding challenge since the initial state is not recovered rapidly. Here, using state-of-the-art single-shot spectroscopy techniques, we present a direct ultrafast visualization of the photoinduced phase transition to both transient and long-lived hidden states in an electronic crystal, 1<i>T</i>-TaS₂, and demonstrate a commonality in their microscopic 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z2022 Jul2025-04-22T11:28:10.686Z2025-04-05T23:59:45.416ZS-EPMC93072493586778910.1126/sciadv.abp9076