Department News

Department News

Terahertz pulses induce chirality in a non-chiral crystal

Chirality is a fundamental property of matter that determines many biological, chemical and physical phenomena. Chiral solids, for example, offer exciting opportunities for catalysis, sensing and optical devices by enabling unique interactions with chiral molecules and polarized light. These properties are however established when the material is grown, that is, the left- and right-handed enantiomers cannot be converted into one another without melting and recrystallization. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter (MPSD) and the University of Oxford have shown that terahertz light can induce chirality in a non-chiral crystal, allowing either left- or right-handed enantiomers to emerge on demand. The finding, reported in Science, opens up exciting possibilities for exploring novel non-equilibrium phenomena in complex materials. more

Max Planck-New York Center renewed for five years

The renewed funding comes from Columbia University, the Flatiron Institute, the MPSD and the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz, Germany. The New York Center will also expand to include Cornell University as a new partner institution. more

<span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Shedding light on superconducting disorder</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>

Researchers at the MPSD and Brookhaven National Laboratory used two-dimensional terahertz spectroscopy (2DTS) in a non-collinear geometry for the first time to isolate specific terahertz nonlinearities in the cuprate superconductor La1.83Sr0.17CuOby their emission direction. Their work has been published in Nature Physics. more

Light-induced Meissner effect in YBa<sub>2</sub>Cu<sub>3</sub>O<sub>6.48</sub>

Researchers in the Cavalleri group discover that photo-excited YBa2Cu3O6.48, in addition to featuring near zero resistance, also expels a static magnetic field from its interior. Their work has been published in Nature. more

<span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Andrea Cavalleri to receive 2024 EPS Europhysics Prize</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span>

Professor Andrea Cavalleri, founding director of the MPSD, is to be honored with the 2024 EPS Europhysics Prize by the European Physical Society. The EPS is awarding the Prize in recognition of his “pioneering studies of photo-induced emergent phases of quantum materials: from enhanced superconductivity to the control of materials topology”. more

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