“Pathways toward unconventional light-induced states in quantum materials ”

Alfred Zong

Thursday,  February 16th at 4:00 PM

120 Engineering (Hammond Auditorium)

Phase transitions instigated by an ultrashort laser pulse usher in a new era for materials engineering in the femto- (10-15) to pico-second (10-12 s) regime, a time window that is commensurate with nanoscopic dynamics of electrons, spins, and lattice ions. Rapid advances in tabletop ultrafast techniques—such as time-resolved photoemission, diffraction, and core-level absorption—have enabled us to examine complex interactions and out-of-equilibrium states with unprecedented details. In this talk, I will discuss two important pathways for manipulating nonequilibrium phases of matter in quantum materials, which feature (i) competing orders, and (ii) strong Coulomb interaction between electrons and holes. [Read More…]