Heat front propagation in femtosecond-laser-heated solids.

The formation and propagation of heat fronts produced by an intense femtosecond-laser pulse are examined in numerical simulations which treat self-consistently laser absorption, thermal conduction, and hydrodynamics. The results revealed that the initial heat front is dictated by laser absorption as an evanescent wave. The effect of thermal conduction becomes important as the temperature of the solid increases. The results also suggest that such heat fronts may be used to probe the electrical and thermal conductivities of hot, dense plasmas.