Intense femtosecond laser excitation can produce transient states of matter that would otherwise be inaccessible to laboratory investigation. At high excitation densities, the interatomic forces that bind solids and determine many of their properties can be substantially altered. Here, we present the detailed mapping of the carrier density–dependent interatomic potential of bismuth approaching a solid-solid phase transition. Our experiments combine stroboscopic techniques that use a high-brightness linear electron accelerator–based x-ray source with pulse-by-pulse timing reconstruction for femtosecond resolution, allowing quantitative characterization of the interatomic potential energy surface of the highly excited solid.

Femtosecond time-resolved small and wide angle x-ray diffuse scattering techniques are applied to investigate the ultrafast nucleation processes that occur during the ablation process in semiconducting materials. Following intense optical excitation, a transient liquid state of high compressibility characterized by large-amplitude density fluctuations is observed and the buildup of these fluctuations is measured in real time. Small-angle scattering measurements reveal snapshots of the spontaneous nucleation of nanoscale voids within a metastable liquid and support theoretical predictions of the ablation process. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.135502 PACS numbers: 79.20.Ds, 61.05.cp, 61.20.Lc, 64.60.ÿi The liquid state of matter can be both supercooled below its freezing point and superheated above its boiling point. Although these are nonequilibrium states, their lifetime is longer than typical laboratory observation times and they are thus classified as metastable, stuck in a local minimum of the free energy. Despite their apparent stability, these systems exhibit localized fluctuations, corresponding to nuclei of the lower energy phase which rapidly form and dissolve, a process for which there exists a critical size for stable growth of the equilibrium phase, typically of nanoscale dimensions [1-3] (depending on the degree of superheating). When the transition does occur, it occurs rapidly, as is familiar to anyone who has observed the catastrophic boiling that suddenly occurs in superheated liquid water [4]. The development of ultrafast, atomic-scale sensitive techniques enables one to capture these transient, intermediate states, which under current laboratory methods, may spontaneously transform to lower energy stable states on inaccessible time scales. Techniques like time-resolved x-ray or electron scattering record these intermediate states in the form of a diffuse scattering pattern whose shape reflects the local atomic-scale structure that characterizes the transforming material. As a result of the orientational isotropy in the system and the short correlation lengths, these are typically broad diffraction rings, in contrast to the well-defined diffracted beams one obtains from a crystalline system. The radially averaged diffracted intensity as a function of scattering angle (normalized by atomic scattering factors) is a direct measure of the liquid structure factor S Q , where Q 4 sin = is the momentum transfer, 2 is the scattering angle, and is the wavelength, which directly encodes the short-range correlations in disordered materials.Recent experiments probing atomic-scale dynamics in disordered systems using electron diffraction techniques have focused on gas-phase photochemical reactions [5],

CMT welding sources are garnering attention as alternative heat sources for wire arc additive manufacturing because of their low-heat input. A comprehensive experimental and numerical study on the multi-layer deposition of STS316L was performed to investigate effect of heat accumulation during the deposition. The numerical model which is appropriate for WAMM was developed considering the characteristics of the CMT heat source for the first time. Using a high-speed camera, the transient behavior of the CMT arc was investigated, and applied to the heat source of the numerical model. The model was then used to analyze 10-layered deposits of STS316L, fabricated using CMT-based WAAM. During deposition, the temperature is measured using a pyrometer to analyze the microstructure, after which the cooling rate of each layer is estimated. The measured and simulated SDAS were compared. Based on the comparison, a guideline for the equation regarding the SDAS size and cooling rate was suggested.

We report on the propagation of coherent acoustic wave packets in (001) surface oriented Al0.3Ga0.7As/GaAs heterostructure, generated through localized femtosecond photoexcitation of the GaAs. Transient structural changes in both the substrate and film are measured with picosecond time-resolved x-ray diffraction. The data indicate an elastic response consisting of unipolar compression pulses of a few hundred picosecond duration traveling along [001] and [001] directions that are produced by predominately impulsive stress. The transmission and reflection of the strain pulses are in agreement with an acoustic mismatch model of the heterostructure and free-space interfaces.

Analysis of plutonium isotopes by Semiconductor Alpha Spectrometry (SAS), ICP-sector field mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) was carried out in seawater samples collected from the Northeast Atlantic Ocean (nuclear waste dumping sites) and Northwest Pacific Ocean. No particularly elevated levels of the atom ratios of 240 Pu/ 239 Pu compared to global fallout ratio (0.18) were found in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean seawater samples. The higher levels of atom ratios of 240 Pu/ 239 Pu were found in the Northwest Pacific Ocean. This is mainly due to contribution from the local fallout from nuclear weapon tests carried out at the Pacific Proving Grounds at the Marshall Islands.