Nonequilibrium control of broken-symmetry phases in quantum materials - A low-energy approach
Abstract
Quantum materials owe their remarkable properties to a delicate balance among many interacting degrees of freedom. Such precarious equilibrium renders these systems exceptionally sensitive to external stimuli. Even small perturbations can induce a multitude of diverse phases resulting in colossal changes in the materials functionalities. The understanding of the microscopic interactions that govern these phenom- ena and the engineering of their collective responses have been long-standing goals of both fundamental and technological importance. In the last decades, significant effort has been made towards the control of quantum materials with intense ultrashort light fields. Laser pulses at terahertz and mid-infrared fre- quencies are particularly remarkable as they allow for the selective excitation of collective modes at their intrinsic energy scales. In particular, the optical excitation of infrared-active phonons to large amplitudes, which drives materials into highly nonlinear regimes, has proven to be a formidable tool for controlling electronic functionalities. This thesis investigates how nonlinearities of the crystal lattice can be exploited to induce or control broken symmetry phases in quantum materials. In the first part of this thesis, I will show how the optical excitation of phonons promotes and stabilizes a dormant ferroelectric state that would be otherwise thermally inaccessible. Strontium Titanate (SrTiO3) is a quantum paraelectric where dipolar…
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