IMPRS-APS Monthly Talk/ Solids in Ultrafast Strong Fields: Topological Attosecond Phenomena (Prof. Mark Stockmann)

  • Date: Jul 5, 2018
  • Time: 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM (Local Time Germany)
  • Speaker: Prof. Dr. Mark Stockman
  • Center for Nano-Optics (CeNo) and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Georgia State University, USA
  • Location: Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik
  • Room: New Lecture Hall, Room B 0.32
  • Host: IMPRS-APS
We present our latest results for a new class of quantum phenomena in condensed matter nanooptics when a strong, single-oscillation optical field ∼1 V/Å induces changes in a solid, which are defined by its topological properties.

We will discuss our latest theoretical results on graphene (a semimetal) and other two-dimensional solids such as transitional metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), which are direct-bandgap semiconductors. These materials in the reciprocal space are characterized by such nontrivial topological properties as Berry curvature and Berry flux in the K- and K’-valleys. Graphene in a strong ultrashort pulse field exhibits unique behavior, in particular, induced chirality, related to its topological properties. The TMDCs are predicted to exhibit a significant valley polarization induced by just a single-oscillation chiral optical pulse. We also predict resonances in TMDCs that are solely due to the Berry curvature (topological resonances). We also briefly review topological insulators and present predictions of their behavior in ultrafast optical fields. We will also review experimental results in ultrafast topological optics already available. The phenomena considered are among the fastest processes in optics unfolding on a time scale of hundreds attoseconds. They offer potential for petahertz-bandwidth signal processing, generation of high harmonics on a nanometer spatial scale, femtosecond valleytronics, etc


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