title: Ultrafast electronic phase transition in La1/2Sr3/2MnO4 by coherent vibrational excitation: evidence for nonthermal melting of orbital order.
abstract: An ultrafast electronic phase transition, associated with melting of orbital order, is driven in La1/2Sr3/2MnO4 by selectively exciting the Mn-O stretching mode with femtosecond pulses at 16 microm wavelength. The energy coupled into this vibration is less than 1% of that necessary to induce the transition thermally. Nonthermal melting of this electronic phase originates from coherent lattice displacements comparable to the static Jahn-Teller distortion.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: R I
authors.initials: RI
authors.lastname: Tobey
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Prabhakaran
authors.forename: A T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Boothroyd
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cavalleri