Sub-Cycle Quantum Physics (Prof. A. Leitenstorfer)
- Date: Nov 6, 2015
- Time: 02:30 PM - 04:00 PM (Local Time Germany)
- Speaker: Prof. Dr. Alfred Leitenstorfer, Universität Konstanz, Fachbereich Physik
- Room: Herbert Walther Lecture Hall
- Host: MPQ
These studies are enabled by advanced femtosecond sources exploiting Er,
Yb and Tm:doped gain media. Based on nonlinear fiber optics and
thin-disk technology, our compact systems combine attractive features
like e.g. single-cycle pulse generation and passive phase locking with
quantum-limited noise performance at high photon flux. In this way, we
can investigate ultrafast dynamics of charges and spins in single
solid-state nanostructures and on the level of individual
quasiparticles. The addition of multi-terahertz technology gives access
to low-energy elementary degrees of freedom in complex materials with
strong quantum correlations. We trace the atomic origin of electronic
bands by localizing the wave functions in phase-locked transient bias
fields and sub-cycle optical probing. Following this cross-sectional
overview, the talk will focus on the latest step towards precise
temporal manipulation and analysis of the quantum properties of light
and matter: even the vacuum fluctuations of the electric field may be
detected with ultrabroadband electro-optic sampling in free space. Here,
the sub-cycle aspect is of fundamental relevance because it opens up a
direct way to study virtual excitations without amplifying them to
finite occupation numbers.