Negative absolute conductivity in photoexcited metals

Abstract

We show that in a model of a metal photoexcited by a transient pump pulse resonant with a phonon mode the absolute dc conductivity may become negative, depending on the interplay between the electronic structure, the phonon frequency and the pump intensity. The analysis includes the effects of inelastic scattering and thermal relaxation. Results for the time evolution of the negative conductivity state are presented; the associated non-equilibrium physics may persist for long times after the pulse. Our findings provide a theoretical justification for previously proposed phenomenology and indicate new routes to the generation and exploration of intrinsically non-equilibrium states.

5 pages, 3 figure. Supplement: 8 pages, 3 figures

References in corpus (2)

• Theory of microwave-induced oscillations in the magnetoconductivity of a 2D electron gas
• Nonequilibrium Steady State of Photoexcited Correlated Electrons in the Presence of Dissipation

Cited by in corpus (1)

• Polarity dependent heating at the phase interface in metal-insulator transitions