Kinetics of a superconductor excited with a femtosecond optical pulse

Superconducting state dynamics following excitation of a superconductor with a femtosecond optical pulse is studied in terms of a phenomenological Rothwarf and Taylor model. Analytical solutions for various limiting cases are obtained. The model is found to account for the intensity and temperature dependence of both photoinduced quasiparticle density, as well as pair-breaking and superconducting state recovery dynamics in conventional as well as cuprate superconductors.