A new Humboldt Research Fellowship: Unraveling the role of light and matter symmetries in ultrafast strong-field interactions
Alba de las Heras has been awarded a prestigious Humboldt Research Fellowship at the Theory Department of the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter (MPSD) to study ultrafast interactions of topological matter with structured laser beams. The project focuses on exploiting all the degrees of freedom of femtosecond laser pulses to gain further control over the electron dynamics in topological materials, and particularly Weyl semimetals.
De las Heras plans to make use of recent advances in laser technology: “The progress on laser physics and technology enables now a full control of directional and temporal properties of strong laser pulses, which can allow for more capabilities in the interaction with matter. Still, we require further understanding of nonlinear light-induced excitations in quantum materials presenting a special band structure and topological properties to uncover applications in ultrafast optoelectronic devices, high-resolution spectroscopy and quantum metrology.“
In September 2024, shortly after her PhD thesis defence at the University of Salamanca, Alba de las Heras joined the Theory Department of Angel Rubio with the goal of exploring the interplay between topological light and quantum materials. In the Humboldt Project, which began in June 2025, all the electric field properties (intensity, phase, polarization) of the laser will be tailored in space and time to analyze their impact in the currents and high harmonic spectra obtained from calculations done by de las Heras and her colleagues.
Explaining her decision to join the MPSD, de las Heras tells about a research visit to the Theory Department during her PhD, where she wanted to theoretically address the generation of very short magnetic pulses using ring currents, ultra-short laser pulses and neon atoms and adds: “A critical point in my decision to join the MPSD was working in a diverse, international, interdisciplinary team working on top-level research and with powerful computational tools available. Also, I am looking forward to learning more methodology for modelling ultrafast solid-state physics.”
The challenge of investigating structured light in topological materials implies the transition from atomic species to solid-state systems. Alba de las Heras is looking forward to the challenges this might bring up, but is certain that this research approach opens a promising perspective on guiding the next generation of coherent extreme ultraviolet sources, ultrafast optoelectronic devices and time-resolved chirality detection methods in crystals.
The Humboldt Research Fellowship supports exceptional young scientists planning to conduct long-term research in Germany, allowing them to select their host and research institution for the duration of their stay.
