The simultaneous condensation of electronic and structural degrees of freedom gives rise to new states of matter, including superconductivity and charge-density-wave formation. When exciting such a condensed system, it is commonly assumed that the ultrafast laser pulse disturbs primarily the electronic order, which in turn destabilizes the atomic structure. Contrary to this conception, we show here that structural destabilization of few atoms causes macroscopic melting of the charge-density wave in 1T-TiSe2. In detail, we use ultrafast pump-probe non-resonant and resonant X-ray diffraction to track the periodic lattice distortion and the electronic charge density wave in 1T-TiSe2 upon optical excitation. We observe a fluence regime in which the periodic lattice deformation is strongly suppressed but the charge density wave related Se 4p orbital order remains mostly intact. Complete melting of both structural and electronic order occurs 4-5 times faster than expected from a purely electronic charge-screening process, strongly suggesting a structurally assisted weakening of excitonic correlations. Our experimental data provides insight on the intricate coupling between structural and electronic order in stabilizing the periodic-lattice-distortion/charge-density-wave state in 1T-TiSe2. The results further show that electron-phonon-coupling can lead to different, energy dependent phase-transition pathways in condensed matter systems, opening new possibilities in the conception of non-equilibrium phenomena at the ultrafast scale.

The simultaneous condensation of electronic and structural degrees of freedom gives rise to new states of matter, including superconductivity and charge-density-wave formation. When exciting such a condensed system, it is commonly assumed that the ultrafast laser pulse disturbs primarily the electronic order, which in turn destabilizes the atomic structure. Contrary to this conception, we show here that structural destabilization of few atoms causes macroscopic melting of the charge-density wave in 1T-TiSe2. In detail, we use ultrafast pump-probe non-resonant and resonant X-ray diffraction to track the periodic lattice distortion and the electronic charge density wave in 1T-TiSe2 upon optical excitation. We observe a fluence regime in which the periodic lattice deformation is strongly suppressed but the charge density wave related Se 4p orbital order remains mostly intact. Complete melting of both structural and electronic order occurs 4-5 times faster than expected from a purely electronic charge-screening process, strongly suggesting a structurally assisted weakening of excitonic correlations. Our experimental data provides insight on the intricate coupling between structural and electronic order in stabilizing the periodic-lattice-distortion/charge-density-wave state in 1T-TiSe2. The results further show that electron-phonon-coupling can lead to different, energy dependent phase-transition pathways in condensed matter systems, opening new possibilities in the conception of non-equilibrium phenomena at the ultrafast scale.