Authors
Travis D Griffin, Dirk O Gericke, Daniel Haden, Hae Ja Lee, Eric Galtier, Eric Cunningham, Dimitri Khaghani, Michael Larsen, Lennart Wollenweber, Ben Armentrout, Carson Convery, Karen Appel, Gilliss Dyer, Luke B Fletcher, Sebastian Göde, J B Hastings, Jeremy Iratcabal, Emma E McBride, Jacob Molina, Giulio Monaco, Landon Morrison, Hunter Stramel, Sameen Yunus, Ulf Zastrau, Siegfried H Glenzer, Gianluca Gregori, Bob Nagler, Thomas G White
Published in
Nature communications. Jun 18, 2026. Epub Jun 18, 2026.
Abstract
Electron-ion equilibration dynamics in samples driven into superheated states with multi-eV electron temperatures represent a fundamental process in nonequilibrium physics. A clear picture of the evolving ion temperature is essential for understanding the strength of the electron-ion coupling. However, direct, model-independent measurements of the ion temperature in laser-irradiated samples have remained experimentally elusive. Using inelastic X-ray scattering with meV-resolution in gold samples, the ion response to ultrafast heating by the hot electrons can be resolved, quantifying the electron-ion equilibration dynamics. We report measurements revealing a strongly enhanced energy transfer rate compared to that in weakly excited gold. Moreover, we obtain a quasi-constant electron-ion coupling at the highly elevated electron temperatures. These results place new constraints on electron-ion energy transfer in warm dense matter and establish a path toward quantitative benchmarking of models for nonequilibrium dynamics.
PMID:
42315522
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 19 Jun 2026.
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