Stainless steel in an electronically excited state

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Author: Medvedev, Nikita
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Medvedev, Nikita
author_facet Medvedev, Nikita
contents Understanding the non-equilibrium behavior of stainless steel under extreme electronic excitation remains a critical challenge for laser processing and radiation science. We employ a hybrid framework integrating density-functional tight binding, transport Monte Carlo, and Boltzmann equations to model austenitic stainless steel (Fe$_{0.5875}$Cr$_{0.25}$Mn$_{0.09}$Ni$_{0.07}$C$_{0.0025}$) under ultrafast irradiation. The developed approach uniquely bridges atomic-scale electronic dynamics and mesoscale material responses, enabling the quantitative mapping of electron-temperature-dependent properties (electronic heat capacity, thermal conductivity, and electron-phonon coupling) up to the electronic temperatures Te~25,000 K. Two distinct lattice disordering mechanisms are identified: nonthermal melting at Te~10,000 K (the dose ~1.4 eV/atom), where the lattice collapses on sub-picosecond timescales without atomic heating driven by electronic excitation modifying the interatomic potential; and thermal melting (at ~0.45 eV/atom), induced by electron-phonon coupling on picosecond timescales. The derived parameters enable predictive modeling of stainless steel under extreme conditions, with implications for laser machining and radiation-resistant material design.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_19798
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Stainless steel in an electronically excited state
Medvedev, Nikita
Materials Science
Understanding the non-equilibrium behavior of stainless steel under extreme electronic excitation remains a critical challenge for laser processing and radiation science. We employ a hybrid framework integrating density-functional tight binding, transport Monte Carlo, and Boltzmann equations to model austenitic stainless steel (Fe$_{0.5875}$Cr$_{0.25}$Mn$_{0.09}$Ni$_{0.07}$C$_{0.0025}$) under ultrafast irradiation. The developed approach uniquely bridges atomic-scale electronic dynamics and mesoscale material responses, enabling the quantitative mapping of electron-temperature-dependent properties (electronic heat capacity, thermal conductivity, and electron-phonon coupling) up to the electronic temperatures Te~25,000 K. Two distinct lattice disordering mechanisms are identified: nonthermal melting at Te~10,000 K (the dose ~1.4 eV/atom), where the lattice collapses on sub-picosecond timescales without atomic heating driven by electronic excitation modifying the interatomic potential; and thermal melting (at ~0.45 eV/atom), induced by electron-phonon coupling on picosecond timescales. The derived parameters enable predictive modeling of stainless steel under extreme conditions, with implications for laser machining and radiation-resistant material design.
title Stainless steel in an electronically excited state
topic Materials Science
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.19798