Ian K Robinson, Jack P Griffiths, Robert Koch, Tadesse A Assefa, Ana F Suzana, Yue Cao, Sungwon Kim, Dongjin Kim, Heemin Lee, Sunam Kim, Jae Hyuk Lee, Sang Youn Park, Intae Eom, JaeHyun Park, Daewoong Nam, Sangsoo Kim, Sae Hwan Chun, Hyojung Hyun, Kyung Sook Kim, Ming Lu, Changyong Song, Hyunjung Kim, Simon J L Billinge, Emil S Bozin
X-ray structural science is undergoing a revolution driven by the emergence of X-ray Free-electron Laser (XFEL) facilities. The structures of crystalline solids can now be studied on the picosecond time scale relevant to phonons, atomic vibrations which travel at acoustic velocities. In the work presented here, X-ray diffuse scattering is employed to characterize the time dependence of the liquid phase emerging from femtosecond laser-induced melting of polycrystalline gold thin films using an XFEL. In a previous analysis of Bragg peak profiles, we showed the supersonic disappearance of the solid phase and presented a model of pumped hot electrons carrying energy from the gold surface to scatter at internal grain boundaries...
November 1, 2023: IUCrJ