Is the ultra-fast transformation of bismuth non-thermal?

Transient state of femtosecond laser excited bismuth has been studied by various groups with time-resolved optical, x-ray, and electron probes at the deposited energy density from below through up to several times the equilibrium enthalpy of melting. However, the interpretations of the experimental results are controversial: the optical probes reveal the absence of transition to the melting phase while the authors of x-ray and electron diffraction experiments claim the observation of ultrafast non-thermal melting. The presented analysis, based on temperature dependence of bismuth optical properties, unequivocally shows a purely thermal nature of all the observed fs-laser induced transformations in bismuth.