We investigate the dynamics of photoexcited carriers in silicon after interband excitation with optical femtosecond pulses by probing intraband transitions with time‐delayed THz pulses. The experimental data at various temperatures are compared with numerical, self‐consistent solutions of the intraband polarization and Maxwell’s equations. In addition, we deduce the carrier scattering rate from the comparison between experiment and theory. ©1996 American Institute of Physics.