Measurement of the electronic Grüneisen constant using femtosecond electron diffraction

We report the first accurate measurement of the electronic Grüneisen constant gamma(e) using a novel method employing the new technique of femtosecond electron diffraction. The contributions of the conduction electrons and the lattice to thermal expansion are differentiated in the time domain through transiently heating the electronic temperature well above that of the lattice with femtosecond optical pulses. By directly probing the associated thermal expansion dynamics in real time using femtosecond electron diffraction, we are able to separate the contributions of hot electrons from that of lattice heating, and make an accurate measurement of gamma(e) of aluminum at room temperature. This new approach opens the possibility of distinguishing electronic from magnetic contributions to thermal expansion in magnetic materials at low temperature.