Gastgeber: Andrea Cavalleri

Eryin Wang - Novel and tailored electronic structures in 2D material heterostructures

MPSD Seminar
The big family of 2D materials provides variable and interesting stacking blocksfor constructing 2D heterostructures to achieve novel electronic propertiesdistinct from its constitute materials. So far, the 2D material heterostructureshave been an emerging research area with increasing scientific interest. In thistalk, I will present the angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy studies ontwo novel 2D heterostructures, Bi2Se3/BSCCO [1] and graphene/h-BN [2,3]. Iwill show how the proximity effect (in Bi2Se3/BSCCO) and moire superlatticepotential (in graphene/h-BN) tune the electronic properties and further lead tothe realization of many novel quantum phenomena. The variety of 2D materialsgenerates great possibilities in 2D heterostructures which are waiting for moreresearch investigations. [mehr]

Simon Wall - Spins, Phonons and Phase Separation in Correlated Materials

MPSD Seminar
Electrons, phonons and spins are the key ingredients that make up correlated materials and understanding how these parameters interact is vital for determining their relative interactions. In this talk I will discuss our recent experiments on how to measure these interactions on a range of time and length-scales. I will discuss demagnetization of the antiferromagnetic Mott insulator Cr2O3 as measured through second harmonic generation, in which the demagnetization pathway is dictated by phonons. Then I will discuss the insulator to metal transition in VO2, both in terms of static nano-scale measurements of phase separation measured with resonant soft X-ray holography and dynamic measurements of how the phonon degree of freedom evolves away from the zone centre using time-resolved thermal diffuse scattering. [mehr]

Sangwan Sim - Ultrafast optical spectroscopy of topological insulators and two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides

MPSD Seminar
Ultrafast optical spectroscopy of quantum materials uncovers their intrinsic physical properties such as light-matter interactions and dynamics of particles and quasi-particles. In this presentation, I will present our ultrafast optical studies of two different electronic systems: topological insulators (TIs) and two-dimensional transition metal Dichalcogenides (2D TMDs). In TIs, where Dirac-like topological surface states (TSSs) coexist with an underlying bulk insulator, we have investigated ultrafast dynamics of TSS Dirac fermions and plasmons, and their interactions with phonon by using optical-pump terahertz-probe spectroscopy. We have found that, unlike Dirac electrons in graphene, TSS Dirac electrons exhibit unique dynamic features originating from interactions with coexisting bulk insulator. In the studies of 2D TMDs, we have performed ultrafast optical pump-probe spectroscopy of anisotropic excitons in group-VII TMDs. We discuss coherent light-matter interactions such as excitonic optical Stark effect and quantum beats, both of which exhibit significant laser-polarization dependence, resulting from anisotropic nature of the excitons. [mehr]

Paolo G. Radaelli - Lecture 1: Introduction to symmetry in CMP

MPSD Seminar

Paolo G. Radaelli - Lecture 2: Crystallographic point groups and group theory

MPSD Seminar

Paolo G. Radaelli - Lecture 3: Introduction to the theory of representations

MPSD Seminar

Paolo G. Radaelli - Lecture 4: Key theorems about irreducible representations

MPSD Seminar

Paolo G. Radaelli - Lecture 5: Applications of representations to physics problems

MPSD Seminar
See 'more' for link for lecture notes and supportin material. [mehr]

Paolo G. Radaelli - Lecture 6: Projectors, subduction and group product

MPSD Seminar

Paolo G. Radaelli - Lecture 7: Tensors and tensor products of representations

MPSD Seminar

Paolo G. Radaelli - Lecture 8: “Physical” tensors

MPSD Seminar
Investigation of the ultrafast photoexcited electronic response in semiconductors has provided invaluable insights into carrier dynamics. Germanium and its alloys with Si have promise for creating multi-junction solar cells with higher efficiency and mid-infrared optoelectronics. However, the dynamics are complicated by multiple energetically similar valleys, rendering an understanding of carrier thermalization and population inversion following photoexcitation difficult. Attosecond transient absorption spectroscopy (ATAS) has recently been employed to probe ultrafast electron and hole dynamics in germanium at the M4,5-edge (~30 eV). In the experiment, a 5 fs VIS-NIR pump pulse excites carriers across the direct band gap and the dynamics are probed with a time-delayed broadband extreme ultraviolet pulse generated by high harmonic generation in xenon spanning ~20-45 eV. The observed transient absorption signal contains the energetic distribution of both carriers, electrons and holes, due to state blocking as well as spectroscopic features induced by bandshifts (e.g. due to band gap renormalization) and broadening (e.g. due to many body effects). By iterative procedures the measured signal can be successfully decoupled into these contributions resolving the carrier and band dynamics with excellent time and energy resolution. Hot carrier relaxation on a 100-fs time scale and carrier recombination on a 1-ps time scale are observed in nanocrystalline Germanium. Going from bulk semiconductor to two-dimensional layers, long-lived core-exciton states are observed at the MoN2,3 edge between 32 and 35 eV in MoS2. Comparing the XUV absorption spectra of bulk and monolayer MoS2, a ~4 eV red-shift suggests a tightly bound core-exciton. The lifetime of the core-exciton states can be directly measured in the time domain. Furthermore, transient Stark shifts, coherences, and coherent population transfer between different core-exciton states are observed. [mehr]
Coherent Multi-Dimensional Spectroscopy (CMDS) is a powerful technique that is directly sensitive to couplings between quantum states. In the optical regime, the technique is well-suited to investigate interactions between the electronic degrees of freedom in systems such as biological light-harvesting complexes and nanostructures. Following a general introduction on Multi-Dimensional Spectroscopy, I will present an ultrafast optical two-dimensional spectrometer based on a hollow-core fiber for broadband visible continuum generation and two acousto-optic pulse shapers arranged in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer for the production of fully-coherent pulse trains. The setup can easily switch between a pump-probe geometry and a collinear geometry with polarization shaping capabilities. The methodological improvements presented here represent important enabling steps towards the longstanding goal of achieving an ”Optical NMR”, and extends the realm of all-optical Multi-Dimensional Spectroscopy to spatially heterogeneous samples. The methods developed are then applied on two classes of systems. The model system Nile Blue is used to validate the performance of the instrument. The spectrometer is also used to reveal new processes in colloidal semiconductor CdSe nanocrystals. One of the most fascinating aspects of semiconductor nanocrystals is their ability to host multiple excitations per particle. When multiple excitons are created in the same nanocrystal, bound quasi-particles called multiexcitons form. In contrast to the single exciton, the structural and dynamic properties of multiexcitons remains, to this day, relatively poorly understood due to their complexity. In the last part of the seminar, I will discuss new insights gained on the structure of the ground state biexciton thanks to the optical CMDS method. [mehr]

Short Course on: Ultrafast Spectroscopy of Phonons and Spin Excitations in Solids - Lecture I

MPSD Seminar
Lecture notes see 'more'. [mehr]

Short Course on: Ultrafast Spectroscopy of Phonons and Spin Excitations in Solids - Lecture II

MPSD Seminar
Lecture notes see 'more'. [mehr]

Short Course on: Ultrafast Spectroscopy of Phonons and Spin Excitations in Solids - Lecture III

MPSD Seminar
Lecture notes see 'more' [mehr]

Ultrafast Electron Diffraction and Microscopy with High-Coherence Beams

MPSD Seminar
Time-resolved electron imaging, diffraction and spectroscopy are exceptional laboratory-based tools to trace non-equilibrium dynamics in materials with a sensitivity to structural, electronic and electromagnetic degrees of freedom. The capabilities of these approaches are largely governed by the quality of the beam of electrons used.This talk will discuss recent advances made by employing high-coherence ultrashort electron pulses from nanoscale field emitters, which substantially enhance the achievable image resolution in both real and reciprocal space. Two complementary developments with ultimate surface sensitivity and spatial resolution, respectively, will be presented, namely Ultrafast Low-Energy Electron Diffraction (ULEED) and Ultrafast Transmission Electron Microscopy (UTEM). Several recent examples of applying these methods to the observation of phase-ordering kinetics, the excitation of strongly-coupled fluctuation modes and the control of metastable states will be given. [mehr]

Short Course on: Ultrafast Spectroscopy of Phonons and Spin Excitations in Solids - Lecture IV

MPSD Seminar
Lecture IV Abstract will follow. [mehr]

Short Course on: Ultrafast Spectroscopy of Phonons and Spin Excitations in Solids - Lecture V

MPSD Seminar
Lecture V Abstract will follow. [mehr]

Short Course on: Ultrafast Spectroscopy of Phonons and Spin Excitations in Solids - Lecture VI

MPSD Seminar
Lecture VI Abstract will follow. [mehr]

Gapless excitations in the ground state of 1T-TaS2

MPSD Seminar
1T-TaS2 is a layered transition metal dichalcogenide with a very rich phase diagram, which was investigated since the early 1970s. At T=180K it undergoes a metal to Mott insulator transition. Mott insulators usually display anti-ferromagnetic ordering in the insulating phase but 1T-TaS2 was never shown to order magnetically. We have shown that 1T-TaS2 has a large paramagnetic contribution to the magnetic susceptibility but it does not show any sign of magnetic ordering or freezing down to 20mK, as probed by muSR, possibly indicating a quantum spin liquid ground state. Although 1T-TaS2 exhibits a strong resistive behavior both in and out of plane at low temperatures we find a linear term in the heat capacity suggesting the existence of a Fermi-surface, which has an anomalously strong magnetic field dependence. [mehr]

Probing (and Changing) the Mechanical Properties of Cell Membranes

MPSD Seminar
Cell membranes are formed of lipid bilayers, and separate the interiors of all living cells from the surroundings. They have an integral role in maintaining the internal environment of cells. Anaesthetics have been shown to have a potency directly proportional to their affinity for lipid substances, strongly implying that the effect of anaesthesia is due to the action on cell membranes of the anaesthetic molecules. Previous studies have demonstrated the effects of anaesthetics on lipid melting points, but no experiments have looked at changes in mechanical properties. [mehr]

Many-body dynamics in pump and probe experiments: From light amplification to terahertz STM

MPSD Seminar
I will discuss new theoretical approaches for analyzing pump and probe experiments in solid state systems. The focus will be on combining theoretical techniques from condensed matter physics and quantum optics. Several examples will be discussed, including light amplification in photo-excited superconductors and insulators, ultrafast molecular dynamics in terahertz-STM experiments. [mehr]

Quantum enhanced super-resolution microscopy

MPSD Seminar
Although the principles of quantum optics have yielded multiple ideas to surpass the classical limitations in optical microscopy, their application in life science imaging has remained extremely challenging. In this talk, I will present two works that apply measurements of photon correlations for the benefit of localization microscopy and image scanning microscopy (ISM). The first uses photon antibunching measurement to estimate the number of emitters in a fluctuating scene and can potentially speed-up super-resolution techniques based on localization microscopy [1]. In the second work, we employ photon antibunching as the imaging contrast itself. Measuring the spatial distribution of ‘missing’ photon pairs in an ISM architecture may enhance lateral resolution four time beyond the diffraction limit [2]. The robustness of the antibunching signal enabled super-resolved imaging of fixed cells, relying solely on a quantum contrast. [mehr]

Shedding New Light on Dirac Materials with Nonlinear Optics

MPSD Seminar
Nonlinear optics has recently emerged as an attractive approach for both probing topological properties and driving Dirac materials into new states. Here, I will describe our use of ultrafast nonlinear optics to study three representative Dirac materials: graphene micro-ribbons, topological insulators, and Weyl semimetals. [mehr]

Unconventional Charge Density Wave Transitions

MPSD Seminar
Historically charge density waves have been associated with the notions of Fermi surface nesting and, at the transition temperature, a soft phonon mode. In this talk, I will present two cases that defy this common theme. First, I will show that TiSe2 undergoes a transition due to exciton condensation, which exhibits a soft mode of a different, electronic variety. Second, when driving the system away from equilibrium, the phase transition is mediated by topological defects. These defects allow for the formation of a charge density wave that does not occur in equilibrium. This light-induced charge density wave shows some unique properties that suggest that it is not just a trivial extension of an equilibrium one. [mehr]

Electrical control of quantum spins

MPSD Seminar
Magnetic fields are challenging to localise to short length scales because their sources are electrical currents. Conversely, electric fields can be applied using electrostatic gates on scales limited only by lithography. This has important consequences for the design of spin-based information technologies: while the Zeeman interaction with a magnetic field provides a convenient tool for manipulating spins, it is difficult to achieve local control of individual spins on the length scale anticipated for useful quantum technologies. This motivates the study of electric field control of spin Hamiltonians [1]. Mn2+ defects in ZnO exhibit extremely long spin coherence times and a small axial zero-field splitting. Their environment is inversion-symmetry-broken, and the zero-field splitting shows a linear dependence on an externally-applied electric field. This control over the spin Hamiltonian offers a route to controlling the phase of superpositions of spin states using d.c. electric field pulses, and to driving spin transitions using microwave electric fields [2]. Experiments on Mn defects in ZnO provide insights into how to achieve manipulation of individual spins on surfaces using a scanning tunnelling microscope. A high-frequency voltage applied to the tip can drive electron spin resonance in Fe atoms on MgO surfaces via modulation of the crystal field experienced by the Fe atom [3]. It has been proposed theoretically that frustrated exchange-coupled molecular clusters might offer sensitivity to externally-applied electric fields [4]. Experiments on an antiferromagnetically-coupled Cu3 compound reveal a small linear electric field effect. A comparable sensitivity is exhibited by the heterometallic S = 1 antiferromagnetic ring Cr7Mn, but no effect is found for the S = 1/2 Cr7Ni [5]. [mehr]

Tuning quantum materials out of equilibrium: A FIB-microstructuring approach

MPSD Seminar
“Quantum materials” loosely defines a broad collection of materials whose ground states are defined by unusual quantum properties. This research largely focuses on macroscopic single crystals, yet naturally interesting quantum phenomena lie beyond their equilibrium state. My group works towards reducing the sample size onto the sub-mm length scale, following the general idea that small samples can be driven more strongly and react faster than on the macro scale. Our main tool is Focused Ion Beam machining capable of cutting single crystals into high quality quantum devices. I will present two concrete research projects showcasing how new quantum states out of equilibrium can be accessed and investigated in FIB-prepared microcrystal structures. The first concerns the heavy fermion superconductor, CeIrIn5 (Tc~400mK). When a mm-sized structure is firmly coupled to a mm-sized substrate of different thermal expansion, the microstructure is under significant strain at low temperatures. By precisely controlling its shape, the emergent strain field can be controlled. The key difference to other approaches, such as uniaxial strain, is that complex, yet well-controlled, spatially varying strain fields can be achieved. In collaboration with Katja Nowack (Cornell), we have experimentally mapped out the resulting superconducting landscape in the devices using scanning-SQUID microscopy, and show that this spatial modulation can be well captured by finite element simulations. [1] Second, I will present our ongoing efforts to experimentally identify pseudo-magnetic fields in 3D Dirac semi-metals [2,3]. Owing to their Dirac dispersion, deformation of the crystal structure does not open a gap at the nodes, but shifts the location of the nodes in k-space and hence playing the role of a “pseudo-magnetic field”, B5. I will show how microstructuring gives us unprecedented control of such a process, and discuss how future. [mehr]

Electronic and Vibrational Properties of Colloidal Nanocrystals

MPSD Seminar
Colloidal nanocrystals (CNCs) are nanometer sized crystals grown in solution. Due to their size-tunable optical properties, CNCs have emerged as a novel material platform for numerous applications such as displays, photovoltaics, and biological tagging. However, the colloidal growth process results in an unavoidable distribution of CNC size that inhomogeneously broadens optical absorption/luminescence lineshapes. 2-D spectroscopy is a technique capable of circumventing inhomogeneous broadening by correlating absorption and emission dynamics. In this talk I will present our results from applying 2-D spectroscopy to CNCs at cryogenic temperatures. I will first discuss our experiments on conventional CdSe CNCs, in which we have simultaneously observed both bulk-like acoustic phonons and acoustic vibrations discretized by the nanocrystal geometry for the first time. Next, I discuss our experiments on perovskite CNCs, which are a new class of materials first synthesized in 2015. We demonstrate that coherences due to vibrational coupling exhibit anomalous dephasing dynamics, which we attribute to a cascaded coherence transfer process. Finally, I discuss our observations of coherences between so-called bright-triplet exciton states, which are robust at high temperatures and polarization-selective. [mehr]
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