- Physical Review Journals
All JournalsPhysics Magazine
Access Provided by Xinjiang University

Physical Review B

Export citation

Export citation

Choose format for download:

Download Citation
  • Access by Xinjiang University

Phonon drag as a mechanism of delayed terahertz response of metals

Ivan Oladyshkin*

  • Department of Nonlinear Electrodynamics, A.V. Gaponov-Grekhov Institute of Applied Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 603950, 46 Ul'yanov Street, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia

  • *Contact author: oladyshkin@ipfran.ru
PDF

Phys. Rev. B 114, 154301 – Published 2 September, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/qz25-c2fq

Abstract

We show that electron drag by nonequilibrium phonons describes the actual duration and spectrum of terahertz pulses generated during femtosecond laser irradiation of metals. In contrast to previous models, there is a picosecond delay in the drag force development due to the relatively slow lattice heating and finite phonon lifetime. We also predict that at high pump fluences a macroscopic deformation wave nonlinearly enhances the drag force and terahertz response. Our results establish the terahertz pulse wave form as a direct probe of ultrafast lattice dynamics in metals.

View figure in article

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Article Text

References (32)

  1. S. A. Uryupin and A. A. Frolov, Generation of surface waves and low-frequency radiation under exposure of a conductor to a laser pulse focused by a cylindrical lens, Quantum Electron. 44, 866 (2014).
  2. V. A. Mironov, I. V. Oladyshkin, E. V. Suvorov, and D. A. Fadeev, Generation of terahertz radiation during reflection of femtosecond laser pulses from a metal surface, J. Exp. Theor. Phys. 119, 179 (2014).
  3. S. G. Bezhanov and S. A. Uryupin, Generation of nonlinear currents and low-frequency radiation upon interaction of a laser pulse with a metal, Quantum Electron. 43, 1048 (2013).
  4. I. V. Oladyshkin, D. A. Fadeev, and V. A. Mironov, Thermal mechanism of laser induced THz generation from a metal surface, J. Opt. 17, 075502 (2015).
  5. S. G. Bezhanov and S. A. Uryupin, Free-electron mechanisms of low-frequency radiation generation on metal surfaces, Opt. Lett. 41, 4975 (2016).
  6. D. J. Hilton, R. D. Averitt, C. A. Meserole, G. L. Fisher, D. J. Funk, J. D. Thompson, and A. J. Taylor, Terahertz emission via ultrashort-pulse excitation of magnetic metal films, Opt. Lett. 29, 1805 (2004).
  7. F. Kadlec, P. Kužel, and J.-L. Coutaz, Optical rectification at metal surfaces, Opt. Lett. 29, 2674 (2004).
  8. F. Kadlec, P. Kužel, and J.-L. Coutaz, Study of terahertz radiation generated by optical rectification on thin gold films, Opt. Lett. 30, 1402 (2005).
  9. G. K. P. Ramanandan, G. Ramakrishnan, N. Kumar, A. J. L. Adam, and P. C. M. Planken, Emission of terahertz pulses from nanostructured metal surfaces, J. Phys. D Appl. Phys. 47, 374003 (2014).
  10. G. Ramakrishnan and P. C. M. Planken, Percolation-enhanced generation of terahertz pulses by optical rectification on ultrathin gold films, Opt. Lett. 36, 2572 (2011).
  11. E. V. Suvorov, R. A. Akhmedzhanov, D. A. Fadeev, I. E. Ilyakov, V. A. Mironov, and B. V. Shishkin, Terahertz emission from a metallic surface induced by a femtosecond optic pulse, Opt. Lett. 37, 2520 (2012).
  12. G. H. Welsh, N. T. Hunt, and K. Wynne, Terahertz-pulse emission through laser excitation of surface plasmons in a metal grating, Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 026803 (2007).
  13. G. H. Welsh and K. Wynne, Generation of ultrafast terahertz radiation pulses on metallic nanostructured surfaces, Opt. Express 17, 2470 (2009).
  14. Y. G. Gurevich and O. L. Mashkevich, The electron-phonon drag and transport phenomena in semiconductors, Phys. Rep. 181, 327 (1989).
  15. S. Kazemian and G. Fanchini, Nickelocene SPM tip as a molecular spin sensor, J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 37, 095802 (2025).
  16. C. Kittel, Introduction to Solid State Physics, 8th ed. (Wiley, New York, 2018), Chap. 5.
  17. U. Ritzmann, P. M. Oppeneer, and P. Maldonado, Theory of out-of-equilibrium electron and phonon dynamics in metals after femtosecond laser excitation, Phys. Rev. B 102, 214305 (2020).
  18. Z. Tong, S. Li, X. Ruan, and H. Bao, Comprehensive first-principles analysis of phonon thermal conductivity and electron-phonon coupling in different metals, Phys. Rev. B 100, 144306 (2019).
  19. L. D. Landau and E. M. Lifshitz, Statistical Physics, 3rd ed. (Elsevier, 2013), Chap. 5.
  20. S. Ono, Thermalization in simple metals: Role of electron-phonon and phonon-phonon scattering, Phys. Rev. B 97, 054310 (2018).
  21. S. I. Anisimov, B. L. Kapeliovich, and T. L. Perel'man, Electron emission from metal surfaces exposed to ultrashort laser pulses, Sov. Phys. JETP 39, 375 (1974).
  22. P. B. Allen, Theory of thermal relaxation of electrons in metals, Phys. Rev. Lett. 59, 1460 (1987).
  23. N. W. Ashcroft and N. D. Mermin, Solid State Physics (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1976), Chaps. 1 and 14.
  24. I. E. Ilyakov, B. V. Shishkin, D. A. Fadeev, I. V. Oladyshkin, V. V. Chernov, A. I. Okhapkin, P. A. Yunin, V. A. Mironov, and R. A. Akhmedzhanov, Terahertz radiation from bismuth surface induced by femtosecond laser pulses, Opt. Lett. 41, 4289 (2016).
  25. J. Dai and X.-C. Zhang, Terahertz wave generation from thin metal films excited by asymmetrical optical fields, Opt. Lett. 39, 777 (2014).
  26. I. V. Oladyshkin, D. A. Fadeev, and V. A. Mironov, Optical excitation of surface plasmons and terahertz emission from metals, Phys. Rev. B 100, 085421 (2019).
  27. B. J. Demaske, V. V. Zhakhovsky, N. A. Inogamov, and I. I. Oleynik, Ultrashort shock waves in nickel induced by femtosecond laser pulses, Phys. Rev. B 87, 054109 (2013).
  28. M. B. Agranat, S. I. Anisimov, S. I. Ashitkov, V. V. Zhakhovskii, N. A. Inogamov, P. S. Komarov, A. V. Ovchinnikov, V. E. Fortov, V. A. Khokhlov, and V. V. Shepelev, Strength properties of an aluminum melt at extremely high tension rates under the action of femtosecond laser pulses, JETP Lett. 91, 471 (2010).
  29. C. Fourment, F. Deneuville, D. Descamps, F. Dorchies, S. Petit, O. Peyrusse, B. Holst, and V. Recoules, Experimental determination of temperature-dependent electron-electron collision frequency in isochorically heated warm dense gold, Phys. Rev. B 89, 161110(R) (2014).
  30. Z. Chen  et al., Ultrafast multi-cycle terahertz measurements of the electrical conductivity in strongly excited solids, Nat. Commun. 12, 1638 (2021).
  31. R. A. Akhmedzhanov, I. E. Ilyakov, V. A. Mironov, I. V. Oladyshkin, E. V. Suvorov, D. A. Fadeev, and B. V. Shishkin, Generation of terahertz radiation by interaction of intense femtosecond laser pulses with a metal surface, Radiophys. Quantum Electron. 57, 807 (2015).
  32. https://github.com/oladyshkin/PhononDrag_THz.

Outline

Information

Phys. Rev. B 114, 154301– Published 2 September, 2026
  • Received 16 April 2026
  • Accepted 17 August 2026
Crossmark - Check for updates button

©2026 American Physical Society

Sign In to Your Journals Account

Filter

Filter

Article Lookup

Enter a citation