TY - JOUR A1 - Fritz, D. M. A1 - Reis, D. A. A1 - Adams, B. A1 - Akre, R. A. A1 - Arthur, J. A1 - Blome, Christian A1 - Bucksbaum, P. H. A1 - Cavalieri, A. L. A1 - Engemann, S. A1 - Fahy, S. A1 - Falcone, R. W. A1 - Fuoss, P. H. A1 - Gaffney, K. J. A1 - George, M. J. A1 - Hajdu, J. A1 - Hertlein, M. P. A1 - Hillyard, P. B. A1 - Horn-von Hoegen, Michael A1 - Kammler, Martin A1 - Kaspar, J. A1 - Kienberger, R. A1 - Krejcik, P. A1 - Lee, S. H. A1 - Lindenberg, A. M. A1 - McFarland, B. A1 - Meyer, D. A1 - Montagne, T. A1 - Murray, E. D. A1 - Nelson, A. J. A1 - Nicoul, Matthieu A1 - Pahl, R. A1 - Rudati, J. A1 - Schlarb, H. A1 - Siddons, D. P. A1 - Sokolowski-Tinten, Klaus A1 - Tschentscher, Th A1 - von der Linde, D. A1 - Hastings, J. B. T1 - Ultrafast bond softening in bismuth: mapping a solid's interatomic potential with X-rays JF - Science N2 - 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. Y1 - 2007 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1135009 VL - 315 IS - 5812 SP - 633 EP - 636 PB - AAAS ER -