Probing ultrafast symmetry breaking in photo-stimulated matter
arXiv:0902.2115 · doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.80.161207
Abstract
The nature of a phase transition is inherently connected to the changes in the crystalline symmtry, which is typically probed by elastic or inelastic scattering with neutrons, electrons or photons. When such a phase transition is stimulated by light or other sudden perturbations the solid evolves along a non-equilibrium pathway of which the underlying physics is poorly understood. Here we use picosecond Raman scattering to study the photo-induced ultrafast dynamics in Peierls distorted Antimony. We find evidence for an ultrafast non-thermal reversible structural phase transition. Most surprisingly, we find evidence that this transition evolves toward a lower symmetry, in contrast to the commonly accepted rhombohedral-to-simple cubic transition path. Our study demonstrates the feasibility of ultrafast Raman scattering symmetry analysis of photo-induced non-thermal transient phases.
References in corpus (3)
Cited by in corpus (10)
- Ultrafast changes in lattice symmetry probed by coherent phonons
- Ultrafast Hot Phonon Dynamics in MgB Driven by Anisotropic Electron-Phonon Coupling
- Photo-Induced Ultrafast Symmetry Switch in SnSe
- A tunable time-resolved spontaneous Raman spectroscopy setup for probing ultrafast collective excitation and quasiparticle dynamics in quantum materials
- Phase separation in the non-equilibrium Verwey transition in magnetite
- Quantum model for Impulsive Stimulated Raman Scattering
- Inhomogeneous disordering at a photo-induced charge density wave transition
- Dynamical resonance quench and Fano interference in spontaneous Raman scattering from quasiparticle and collective excitations
- Nonequilibrium DMFT approach to time-resolved Raman spectroscopy
- Properties and challenges of hot-phonon physics in metals: MgB and other compounds