Generation of the low-density liquid phase of carbon by non-thermal melting of fullerite

¹ Institut für Laser- und Plasmaphysik, Universität Essen - Essen, Germany
² Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory - USA
³ INFM and Dipartimento di Scienza dei Materiali, Università di Milano-Bicocca Via Cozzi 53, I-20125 Milano, Italy
⁴ INFM and Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Milano Via Celoria 16, 20133 Milano, Italy

Received: 19 September 2001
Accepted: 25 October 2001

Abstract

By using femtosecond laser excitation, non-thermal melting of fullerite has been experimentally achieved. Because the ultrafast, non-thermal transition occurs approximately at constant volume, the density of the resulting liquid is 25% lower than for non-thermally molten graphite. Tight-binding molecular-dynamics simulations indicate the formation of the low-density liquid phase, composed by sp-bonded chains at 7900 and 7. The extracted dc resistivity of the liquid (2) is in agreement with theoretical predictions (2.5) for the equilibrium low-density phase.