Electronic processes occurring in solids irradiated by ultra-short XUV/Vis laser pulses: theory and computer simulations

The interaction of ultra-short laser pulses with matter is of significant interest both to fundamental physics and industrial applications. Transient states of matter as well as non-equilibrium scattering dynamics can be studied in real time. From the theoretical point of view the temporal separation of the induced processes as excitation, energy dissipation and possible phase transitions is of great importance. In this talk I show our results on the dynamics of the excited electrons in metals and semiconductors. Peculiarities occurring during short-wavelength excitation as compared to visible light are discussed. We show that the transient distribution of excited electrons, in particular their thermal non-equilibrium, plays a key role when describing heating or probing of matter with ultra-short light pulses.