Ultrafast carrier relaxation and its Pauli drag in photo-enhanced melting of solids

TL;DR

This paper investigates ultrafast carrier relaxation in solids under laser excitation, revealing how electron interactions and Pauli exclusion influence melting dynamics, with implications for high-intensity laser applications.

Contribution

It provides a first-principles dynamic simulation framework that unifies the understanding of carrier relaxation, melting, and Pauli drag effects in laser-excited solids.

Findings

Carrier multiplication and lattice acceleration occur beyond thermal velocities.

A phase diagram explains inertial melting and damping effects.

Pauli Exclusion Principle causes abnormal damping in ultrahigh-intensity regimes.

Abstract

Ultrafast light-matter interaction is a powerful tool for the study of solids. Upon laser excitation, carrier multiplication and lattice acceleration beyond thermal velocity can occur, as a result of far-from-equilibrium carrier relaxation. The roles of electron-electron and electron-phonon scatterings are identified by first-principles dynamic simulations, from which a unified phase diagram emerges. It not only explains the experimentally-observed "inertial" melting but also predicts abnormal damping by Pauli Exclusion Principle with a new perspective on ultrahigh-intensity laser applications.