Research

Great challenges

  • Directing photo-induced order by pulse tailoring and sequencing
  • Disentangling electronic and structural dynamics on ultrashort timescale
  • Governing bistability in materials by elastic-field
  • Switching correlated materials by electric-field impact
  • Recasting a new physical picture

Scientific background

There is a remarkable development in the field of ultra-fast science in solids, in which a pump laser pulse is used to prepare the system into a highly excited state, while the real-time induced electronic and/or structural dynamics is tracked with subsequent probe pulses. This adds a temporal dimension on top of energy and momentum. Nowadays, laser sources are able to deliver ultra-short pulses, typically of few femtosecond duration, thereby shorter than the time scale of atomic motions. Moreover, these pulses can be very intense, possessing a macroscopic number of photons and an extremely large instantaneous electric field. The resulting out-of-equilibrium dynamics can transform the materials towards a new phase with different physical properties. With light and electric control fields, we are therefore able to act strongly and timely on the course of atomic processes in a material. The cooperative interaction in solid state may lead to positive feedback, underpinning non-linear responsiveness and threshold effect. These photo-induced phenomena may trigger a spectacular transformation at the macroscopic state directing the functionality of a material: insulating to metallic, non-magnetic to magnetic,… Recent experiments have provided new insights into the transformation of diverse materials, from the melting of charge or spin order in electron correlated system to cooperative molecular switching in the solid state. Real-time experiments allow to disentangle in time intricate electronic and lattice processes (“dissecting” the Hamiltonian). The possibility to trigger the dynamics coherently makes the process particularly efficient (“selecting” inside the Hamiltonian). Furthermore, the strong electric field gives rise to the opportunity of directly acting on the motion of electrons (“modifying” the Hamiltonian) and there is a strong connection with photoinduced phenomena.

French Partners and Team Members

IPR: Institut de Physique de Rennes UMR 6251 CNRS-Université de Rennes 1, France

"Materials and Light", "Photo-switching and multistability ", "Theory"

E. Collet, M. Lorenc, H. Cailleau, M. Cammarata, M. Buron, M. Servol, L. Guérin, P. Rabiller, B. Toudic, C. Mariette.

IMN: Institut des Matériaux Jean Rouxel, UMR 6502 CNRS-Université de Nantes

"Physique des matériaux et Nanostructures"

L. Cario, B. Corraze, E. Janod

IMMM: Institut Molécules et Matériaux du Mans UMR 6283 CNRS-Université du Maine, Le Mans

"Dynamique Photoinduite dans la Matière Condensée"

P. Ruello, T. Pezeril, V. Temnov, B. Arnaud

GEMAC: Groupe d’Etude de la Matière Condensée, UMR 8635 CNRS-Université Versailles St Quentin en Yvelines

"Physique des Matériaux Moléculaires Commutables"

K. Boukheddaden, D. Garrot, J. Linares, G. Bouchez

Japanese Partners and Team Members

UT: The University of Tokyo

Department of Chemistry, Ohkoshi Group

"New Field of Solid State Physical Chemistry"

S. Ohkoshi, K. Nakabayashi, A. Namai, K. Nakagawa, K. Imoto, M. Yoshikiyo, O. Stefanczyk, H. Tokoro, Y. Miyamoto, T. Nasu, M. Komine, Y. Maeno, K. Nakano, T. Ohno, K. Shiraishi, T. Taniguchi, S. Kawabata, K. Ogata.

Department of Physics, Miyashita Group

"Cooperative Phenomena and Phase Transition"

S. Miyashita, T. Mori, S. A. A. Robayo, T. Shirai, H. Ikeuchi, T. Hatomura, M. Sugita, M. Nishino.

TT: Tokyo Institute of Technology, Department of Chemistry and Materials Science, Koshihara Okimoto Group

"Photoinduced Phase Transition and Cooperative Phenomena"

S. Koshihara, Y. Okimoto, T. Ishikawa, K. Onda, T. Umanodan

KU: Kyoto University, Graduate School of Science, Tanaka Group

"Teraherz Optical Science"

K. Tanaka, T. Arikawa,  H. Hirori

TU: Tohoku University, Department of Physics, Iwai Group

"Ultrafast Spectroscopy" and Ishihara Group "Theory of Condensed Matter Physics"

S. Iwai, H. Itoh, Y. Kawakami, S. Ishihara, A. Ono