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Published on: March 29, 2016
The ultrafast structural response of solid parahydrogen: a complementary experimental/simulation investigation
L Bonacina1, P Larrégaray, F van Mourik
1Laboratoire de Spectroscopie Ultrarapide, ISIC, FSB-BSP, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
The Journal of Chemical Physics
|September 1, 2006
Summary
Ultrafast electronic bubble formation in solid parahydrogen involves rapid expansion and energy flow into the crystal lattice. This process, driven by impurity excitation, shows dynamics similar to a liquid solvent.
Area of Science:
- Condensed matter physics
- Ultrafast spectroscopy
- Computational materials science
Background:
- Impulsive excitation of impurity-doped solid parahydrogen.
- Investigating the dynamics of electronic bubble formation.
Purpose of the Study:
- Characterize the ultrafast dynamics of electronic bubble formation in solid parahydrogen.
- Correlate dynamics with impurity excitation and Rydberg states.
Main Methods:
- Femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy.
- Molecular dynamics simulations with temperature corrections.
- Analysis of structural dynamics across multiple timescales.
Main Results:
- Identified three distinct timescales: ultrafast expansion (<150 fs), energy flow (up to 800 fs), and lattice reorganization (5-10 ps).
- Observed transient narrowing of the H2 molecular distribution around the impurity.
- Confirmed dynamics dominated by radial molecular motion, not impurity rotation.
Conclusions:
- The bubble model effectively describes the observed dynamics.
- Short-time response of the medium resembles a liquid solvent.
- Experimental and simulation results are in strong agreement.
