{
  "abstract": "Ultrafast laser excitation of carriers in semiconductors often results in the creation of fully symmetric coherent optical phonons, typically understood in terms of a thermalized transient carrier population. We test this understanding with systematic measurements and first-principles calculations of the photon-energy dependence of ultrafast-laser-driven coherent phonon generation in tellurium, using excitation wavelengths around the electronic band gap. We observe that, contrary to the expectations of models assuming a thermalized carrier population, the coherent amplitude of the fully symmetric $A_1$ mode changes only weakly when tuning wavelength across the band gap. The measured spectral dependence is instead reproduced by a transition-resolved prethermal force weighted by optical matrix elements and band- and momentum-dependent $A_1$ deformation potentials. Fitting this model to the data yields an excited transition state lifetime of a few femtoseconds. These results identify transition selectivity, rather than a thermalized total carrier density, as a key factor controlling coherent-phonon generation in semiconductors excited near a band gap.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2610.18279",
  "author_total": 8,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Mingyu Shi"
    },
    {
      "name": "Matteo Savoini"
    },
    {
      "name": "Patrick Friebel"
    },
    {
      "name": "Andrea Annunziata"
    },
    {
      "name": "Thomas Metzger"
    },
    {
      "name": "Yunpei Deng"
    },
    {
      "name": "Laura Cattaneo"
    },
    {
      "name": "Steven L. Johnson"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/84n14tqrha3h7.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2610.18279",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "84n14tqrha3h7",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.18279",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "LicenseRef-arXiv-nonexclusive-1.0",
  "licence_label": "arXiv licence",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "cond-mat.mtrl-sci"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "cond-mat.str-el"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3107|Laser-Matter Interactions and Applications"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221748270",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2610.18279",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-25",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/84n14tqrha3h7.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:35:35Z",
      "native_id": "2610.18279",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.18279"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:cond-mat.mtrl-sci",
      "subfield": "condensed-matter"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Coherent Phonon Generation from Prethermal Carrier Populations in a Semiconductor",
  "title_text": "Coherent Phonon Generation from Prethermal Carrier Populations in a Semiconductor",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:35:35Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/84n14tqrha3h7",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}