Light-manipulation of quantum matter in an ultrafast fashion

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Our modern and forthcoming technologies rely on solids' quantum properties, such as colossal magnetoresistance or superconductivity, which underlie the operation of storage devices and MRI machines, respectively. In this regard, novel properties and phases of matter may emerge in materials wherein strong electron correlations and low-dimensionality play in concert. These systems are often referred to as quantum materials. Although these new emergent phases/properties make quantum materials intriguing platforms for developing future technologies, these same phases/properties tend to be "intertwined", i.e. difficult to separate and control independently. To date, this intertwined character of quantum materials has limited their applicability in our day-to-day life, and the broad scientific community is frantically searching for new tools for wholly controlling quantum materials. In this research program, with my team of students and postdocs at INRS-EMT, I will develop new tools for controlling the underlying properties of quantum materials. We will investigate and optimize light-matter interaction as a powerful external "knob" to finely control the macroscopic properties of solids, with the ultimate goal to offer new technological breakthroughs on the ultrafast control of matter. This will be achieved by exploring, via time- and momentum-resolved spectroscopies, how high-intensity (0.1-1 MV/cm) long-wavelength (>4 µm) ultrafast light excitation reshapes the electronic properties of quantum materials. Specifically, my research program for the next five years will take advantage of ultrashort pulses to transiently control quantum materials' electronic properties via (i) oscillating potentials (Floquet physics), as well as (ii) selective lattice distortions (resonant phonon pumping and nonlinear phononics). These experiments will be at the frontier of ultrafast science and condensed matter physics and will offer groundbreaking insights into transient properties of a large variety of quantum materials that have been hidden so far. We aim to provide the first momentum-resolved experimental evidence of phonon-induced Floquet-states and nonlinear phonon pumping effects in graphite. Via a similar experimental approach, we will drive transient topological and magnetic properties in transition metal dichalcogenides, as well as control metal-to-insulator transition and charge-ordering in manganites. Furthermore, we will perform a multi-technique investigation (based on multi time-resolved tools) of copper-oxides superconductors, highlighting the importance of dynamical orders and electron interactions in describing their complex phase diagram. My personnel will develop stunning skills in the broad ultrafast science field, including advanced characterization of materials, attracting considerable scientific interest and making INRS-EMT a world-wide recognized centre for the training and study of dynamical properties of quantum materials.