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Updated: Dec 25, 2025

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Published on: December 14, 2017
Role of Thermal Equilibrium Dynamics in Atomic Motion during Nonthermal Laser-Induced Melting
Xiaocui Wang1, J C Ekström1, Å U J Bengtsson1
1Department of Physics, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden.
Abstract:
This study shows that initial atomic velocities as given by thermodynamics play an important role in the dynamics of phase transitions. We tracked the atomic motion during nonthermal laser-induced melting of InSb at different initial temperatures. The ultrafast atomic motion following bond breaking can in general be governed by two mechanisms: the random velocity of each atom at the time of bond breaking (inertial model), and the forces acting on the atoms after bond breaking. The melting dynamics was found to follow the inertial model over a wide temperature range.
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