Scientists reveal ultrafast melting dynamics in matter heated to extreme temperaturesOrdinary matter
Scientists reveal ultrafast melting dynamics in matter heated to extreme temperatures
Ordinary matter behaves very differently when subjected to extreme temperatures and pressures, such as that inside stellar and planetary cores. Conventional rules of condensed matter physics and plasma physics are not applicable in such scenarios. In particular, an extreme state known as “warm dense matter” (WDM) straddles the boundary of condensed matter physics and plasma physics.
One might think that such states can never be created in a terrestrial setting. But, in fact, short laser pulses that are only femtoseconds (10-15 s, or a quadrillionth of a second) long are intense enough to recreate such conditions in a laboratory. Conventional physical models that describe such states typically assume that electrons become excited by the laser pulse attain equilibrium within tens of femtoseconds while the ions remain “cold.” However, in doing so, the non-equilibrium dynamics of the electrons are completely disregarded.
