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Updated: May 7, 2026

Direct Imaging of Laser-driven Ultrafast Molecular Rotation
Published on: February 4, 2017
Femtosecond visualization of lattice dynamics in shock-compressed matter
D Milathianaki1, S Boutet, G J Williams
1SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA. despina@slac.stanford.edu
Abstract:
The ultrafast evolution of microstructure is key to understanding high-pressure and strain-rate phenomena. However, the visualization of lattice dynamics at scales commensurate with those of atomistic simulations has been challenging. Here, we report femtosecond x-ray diffraction measurements unveiling the response of copper to laser shock-compression at peak normal elastic stresses of ~73 gigapascals (GPa) and strain rates of 10(9) per second. We capture the evolution of the lattice from a one-dimensional (1D) elastic to a 3D plastically relaxed state within a few tens of picoseconds, after reaching shear stresses of 18 GPa. Our in situ high-precision measurement of material strength at spatial (<1 micrometer) and temporal (<50 picoseconds) scales provides a direct comparison with multimillion-atom molecular dynamics simulations.
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