  In femtosecond pump-probe measurements, the appearance of coherent phonon
oscillations at 4.5 THz and 6.0 THz indicating the rutile metal phase of VO_2
does not occur simultaneously with the first-order metal-insulator transition
(MIT) near 68^oC. The monoclinic and correlated metal(MCM) phase between the
MIT and the structural phase transition (SPT) is generated by a photo-assisted
hole excitation which is evidence of the Mott transition. The SPT between the
MCM phase and the rutile metal phase occurs due to subsequent Joule heating.
The MCM phase can be regarded as an intermediate non-equilibrium state.
