Nonlinear acoustics at GHz frequencies in a viscoelastic fragile glass former

Phys Rev Lett. 2015 Feb 13;114(6):065701. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.114.065701. Epub 2015 Feb 9.

Abstract

Using a picosecond pump-probe ultrasonic technique, we study the propagation of high-amplitude, laser-generated longitudinal coherent acoustic pulses in the viscoelastic fragile glass former DC704. We observe an increase of almost 10% in acoustic pulse propagation speed at the highest optical pump fluence which is a result of the supersonic nature of nonlinear propagation in the viscous medium. From our measurement, we deduce the nonlinear acoustic parameter of the glass former in the gigahertz frequency range across the glass transition temperature.