title: Capturing one-dimensional precursors of a photoinduced transformation in a material.
abstract: Achieving control of photoinduced phase transitions requires understanding how materials work during transformation induced by a laser pulse. Here we investigate the precursors of a photoinduced phase transition in the highly cooperative charge-transfer molecular crystal tetrathiafulvalene-p-chloranil and provide key insights. The photogeneration of one-dimensional nanoscale clusters was detected by time-resolved diffuse x-ray scattering with 50-ps time resolution. Such clustering of structurally relaxed electronic excitations is expected to be a common process in many materials presenting photoinduced transformations.
authors.affiliation: JST, Exploratory Research for Advanced Technology, 1-1 Oho, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-0801, Japan.
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Guérin
authors.forename: Johan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hébert
authors.forename: Marylise
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Buron-Le Cointe
authors.forename: Shin-ichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Adachi
authors.forename: Shin-ya
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Koshihara
authors.forename: Hervé
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cailleau
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Collet