Abstract
We present nonadiabatic simulations of the coherent response of crystalline GaAs irradiated by intense femtosecond-scale laser pulses. Above a threshold fluence, which corresponds to promotion of about 12% of the valence electrons into the conduction band, the lattice is destabilized and the electronic band gap collapses to zero. This confirms the nonthermal nature of recently observed structural changes driven by electronic excitations and occurring during the first few hundred femtoseconds.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Article number | 081202 |
| Pages (from-to) | 812021-812024 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Physical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics |
| Volume | 66 |
| Issue number | 8 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Aug 15 2002 |