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Evidence for bootstrap percolation dynamics in a photo-induced phase transition
- Source :
- Phys. Rev. Lett. 130, 186902 (2023)
- Publication Year :
- 2023
-
Abstract
- Upon intense femtosecond photo-excitation, a many-body system can undergo a phase transition through a non-equilibrium route, but understanding these pathways remains an outstanding challenge. Here, we use time-resolved second harmonic generation to investigate a photo-induced phase transition in Ca$_3$Ru$_2$O$_7$ and show that mesoscale inhomogeneity profoundly influences the transition dynamics. We observe a marked slowing down of the characteristic time, $\tau$, that quantifies the transition between two structures. $\tau$ evolves non-monotonically as a function of photo-excitation fluence, rising from below 200~fs to $\sim$1.4~ps, then falling again to below 200~fs. To account for the observed behavior, we perform a bootstrap percolation simulation that demonstrates how local structural interactions govern the transition kinetics. Our work highlights the importance of percolating mesoscale inhomogeneity in the dynamics of photo-induced phase transitions and provides a model that may be useful for understanding such transitions more broadly.
Details
- Database :
- arXiv
- Journal :
- Phys. Rev. Lett. 130, 186902 (2023)
- Publication Type :
- Report
- Accession number :
- edsarx.2305.05220
- Document Type :
- Working Paper
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.130.186902