{
  "abstract": "Ultrafast photoinduced insulator-to-metal transitions in correlated materials are often mediated by lattice distortions, yet the role of interfacial lattice constraints in shaping nonequilibrium pathways remains largely unexplored. We use azimuth-resolved time-resolved X-ray diffraction to track orientation-dependent strain dynamics in granular V$_2$O$_3$ thin films on c-cut sapphire, where thermal-expansion mismatch imposes anisotropic interfacial strain. Across the thermal transition, the azimuthal profile of the (110)$_H$ strain inverts curvature, providing direct evidence of partial clamping of the hexagonal basal-plane lattice (a$_H$,b$_H$). After photoexcitation of the antiferromagnetic insulating phase, the structural response remains clamp-limited: weakly constrained grain families reach the full basal-plane contraction characteristic of the metallic-like state, whereas strongly constrained families exhibit a strongly reduced distortion. Fluence-dependent measurements further disentangle transformed fraction from clamping-limited lattice distortion. Our results show that interfacial clamping acts as a static selector for ultrafast phase switching and provide a general route to quantify anisotropic strain dynamics in heterostructures.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2609.11419",
  "author_total": 12,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "J. Guzman-Brambila"
    },
    {
      "name": "R. Mandal"
    },
    {
      "name": "D. Lea"
    },
    {
      "name": "E. Trzop"
    },
    {
      "name": "M. Servol"
    },
    {
      "name": "J. C. Ekström"
    },
    {
      "name": "F. Pawula"
    },
    {
      "name": "J. Tranchant"
    },
    {
      "name": "L. Cario"
    },
    {
      "name": "M. Lorenc"
    },
    {
      "name": "E. Janod"
    },
    {
      "name": "C. Mariette"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6s1650psxdyfs.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2609.11419",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "6s1650psxdyfs",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.11419",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "cond-mat.mtrl-sci"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2507|Transition Metal Oxide Nanomaterials"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7212318078",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2609.11419",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-10",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6s1650psxdyfs.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:20:26Z",
      "native_id": "2609.11419",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.11419"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:cond-mat.mtrl-sci",
      "subfield": "condensed-matter"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Anisotropy of Ultrafast Strain in $V_2O_3$ Thin Films: Out-of-Equilibrium Phase Transitions under Interfacial Clamping",
  "title_text": "Anisotropy of Ultrafast Strain in V_2O_3 Thin Films: Out-of-Equilibrium Phase Transitions under Interfacial Clamping",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:20:26Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6s1650psxdyfs",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}