Editing Coulomb explosion (section)

==Mechanism==
A Coulombic explosion begins when an intense [[electric field]] (often from a [[laser]]) excites the [[valence electrons]] in a solid, ejecting them from the system and leaving behind positively charged [[ion]]s. The [[chemical bond]]s holding the solid together are weakened by the loss of the electrons, enabling the Coulombic repulsion between the ions to overcome them. The result is an explosion of ions and electrons – a [[Plasma (physics)|plasma]].

The laser must be very intense to produce a Coulomb explosion. If it is too weak, the energy given to the electrons will be transferred to the ions via electron-[[phonon]] coupling. This will cause the entire material to heat up, melt, and thermally [[Laser ablation|ablate]] away as a plasma. The end result is similar to Coulomb explosion, except that any [[fine structure]] in the material will be damaged by thermal melting.<ref>{{cite journal |title= Non-thermal ablation of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene with an intense femtosecond-pulse laser |first1= M. |last1= Hashida |first2= H. |last2= Mishima |first3= S. |last3= Tokita |first4= S. |last4= Sakabe |journal= [[Optics Express]] |year= 2009 |volume= 17 |issue= 15 |pages= 13116–13121 |doi= 10.1364/OE.17.013116 |pmid= 19654716 |bibcode = 2009OExpr..1713116H |hdl= 2433/145970 |url= http://repository.kulib.kyoto-u.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2433/145970/1/OE.17.013116.pdf |doi-access= free }}</ref>

It may be shown that the Coulomb explosion occurs in the same parameter regime as the [[superradiant phase transition]] i.e. when the destabilizing interactions become overwhelming and dominate over the oscillatory phonon-solid binding motions.{{cn|date=August 2023}}