In order to further understand the pulsed-laser melting (PLM) of Mn and N implanted GaAs, which we have used to synthesize thin films of the ferromagnetic semiconductor Ga _1-x Mn _x As and the highly mismatched alloy GaN _x As _1-x , we have simulated PLM of amorphous (a-) and crystalline (c-) GaAs. We present a numerical solution to the one-dimensional heat equation, accounting for phase-dependent reflectivity, optical skin depth, and latent heat, and a temperature-dependent thermal conductivity and specific heat. By comparing the simulations with experimental time-resolved reflectivity and melt depth versus laser fluence, we identify a set of thermophysical and optical properties for the crystalline, amorphous, and liquid phases of GaAs that give reasonable agreement between experiment and simulation. This work resulted in the estimation of thermal conductivity, melting temperature and latent heat of fusion of a-GaAs of 0.008 W/cm K at 300 K, 1350 K, and 2650 J / cm ³ , respectively. These materials properties also allow the prediction of the solidification velocity of crystalline and ion-amorphized GaAs.