An MPSD theory team reports in Physical Review X that it has found no evidence of any universal topological signatures after performing the first ab initio investigation of high harmonic generation from topological insulators.  more

Plasmons promise a variety of applications if the processes triggered by optical excitation in the nanoparticles can be controlled. A research team from Hamburg and Berlin reports in Nano Letters experimental observations that cannot be explained by established models and describes a new theoretical model that explains the dynamics of excited gold nanoparticles observed in experiments. more

MPSD researchers report in PNAS how they observed liquid glycerol in a completely unexpected rubbery state. The rapidly expanding bubbles on the surface of the liquid in vacuum, created by a pulsed laser did not behave like a viscous liquid but like the elastic envelope of a rubber toy balloon. more

Terahertz light pulses can stabilize ferromagnetism in YTiO₃ at temperatures more than three times its usual transition temperature. Researchers from the Cavalleri group report in Nature that the high-temperature ferromagnetic state persisted for many nanoseconds after the light exposure. more

Researchers in Hamburg have developed the Spitrobot - a device that greatly simplifies observing changes in proteins as they carry out their functions and makes time-resolved crystallography accessible for non-specialist research groups. more

The electronic properties of MoSe₂ are determined by the bonds of Mo and Se atoms, to which both elements contribute equally. But when exposed to ultraviolet light, the Mo signal clearly shows a signature dominated by collective processes while the Se signal suggests that the electrons act independently. more

How long does it take electrons to ‘dress’ in light and form Floquet bands? Just one single optical cycle is enough, according to a research team involving the Universities of Marburg, Regensburg and MPSD group leader Michael Sentef. Its study has been published in Nature. more

An international research team has demonstrated unambiguously that the bulk crystal Ta₂NiSe₅ is not an excitonic insulator, settling the debate around the microscopic origin of symmetry breaking in the material. more

Intense laser light can induce magnetism in solids on the attosecond scale – the fastest magnetic response to date. Theoreticians at the MPSD have investigated the magnetization process in several 2D and 3D materials. Their work has appeared in npj Computational Materials. more

Researchers in Germany and the U.S.A. propose a new optical method to verify topological magnon phases. Writing in PRL, the team shows that the intensity of polarized laser light scattered back from a magnetic material is an indicator of topological phases. more