Non-thermal melting of a charge density wave

We use time-resolved optical reflectivity and x-ray diffraction with femtosecond resolution to study the dynamics of the structural order parameter of the charge density wave phase in TiSe₂. We find that the energy density required to melt the charge density wave nonthermally is substantially lower than that required for thermal suppression and is comparable to the charge density wave condensation energy. This observation, together with the fact that the structural dynamics take place on an extremely fast time scale, supports the exciton condensation mechanism for the charge density wave in TiSe₂.