Phon(t)on-induced phase transitions

Projektinformationen

Phonton

ID Finanzhilfevereinbarung: 648166

DOI

10.3030/648166

Projekt abgeschlossen

EK-Unterschriftsdatum 1 Juni 2015

Startdatum 1 September 2015

Enddatum 31 August 2022

Finanziert unter

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)

Gesamtkosten

€ 1 486 973,00

EU-Beitrag

€ 1 486 973,00

Koordiniert durch

RHEINISCHE FRIEDRICH-WILHELMS-UNIVERSITAT BONN
Germany

Periodic Reporting for period 5 - Phonton (Phon(t)on-induced phase transitions)

Berichtszeitraum: 2021-09-01 bis 2022-08-31

Zusammenfassung vom Kontext und den Gesamtzielen des Projekts

One of our dreams for the future is to control and manipulate complex materials and devices at will.
This progress would revolutionize technology and influence many aspects of our everyday life. A
promising direction is the control of material properties by electromagnetic radiation leading to photo-induced phase transitions. An example of such a transition is the reported dynamically induced superconductivity via a laser pulse. Whereas the theoretical description of the coupling of fermions to bosonic modes in equilibrium has seen enormous progress and explains highly non-trivial phenomena as the phonon-induced superconductivity, driven systems pose many puzzles. In addition to the inherent time-dependence of the external driving field, a multitude of possible excitation and relaxation mechanisms challenge the theoretical understanding. Recently in the field of quantum optics, a much cleaner realization of a photo-induced phase transition, the Dicke transition, has been observed for bosonic quantum gases loaded in an optical cavity. Above a critical pump strength of an external laser field, the ensemble undergoes a transition to an ordered phase.
In the project we advanced the general theoretical understanding of photo-induced phase transitions both in the field of solid state physics and quantum optics. In particular, we proposed how to realize photo-induced transitions to unconventional superconductivity and non-trivial
topological phases. We further showed that for the occurring dissipative phase transitions fluctuations are crucial to identify stable steady states. Thus, we developed novel methods which go beyond the previously often employed mean-field description.

Arbeit, die ab Beginn des Projekts bis zum Ende des durch den Bericht erfassten Berichtszeitraums geleistet wurde, und die wichtigsten bis dahin erzielten Ergebnisse

Within the project we have proposed an experimentally realistic setup in order to dynamically generate and stabilize non-trivial topological states. This setup uses a quantum gas coupled in a novel way to an optical resonator. By the novel coupling a cavity-assisted movement of the atoms occurs which leads to the topologically non-trivial phases. The topologically non-trivial state is stabilized by the dissipative attractor dynamics due to cavity losses.
Further, we design a setup which would enable the dynamic generation of superconducting and charge density wave states and quantum devices which filter different kinds of particles.
We find interesting dynamics, e.g. critical dynamics or aging, in dissipative systems signaled by two-time correlations functions.
We have developed several novel methods which can treat the coupling of a bosonic mode (photons or phonons) to an interacting many body system (atoms or electrons) going beyond mean-field treatments. In particular, we devised a novel numerical method based on the matrix product states which has proven to be efficient in treating these complex hybrid systems. We discovered that the fluctuations determine which steady state is taken and that the dissipative transitions taking place are dominated by the fluctuations. This is in contrast to previous mean-field studies which proposed pure state transitions for the dissipative transitions. Additionally, we pointed out that the symmetries are crucial to obtain the correct phase diagram. Our results are disseminated by publications in internationally recognized journals and presentations on conferences and workshops.

Fortschritte, die über den aktuellen Stand der Technik hinausgehen und voraussichtliche potenzielle Auswirkungen (einschließlich der bis dato erzielten sozioökonomischen Auswirkungen und weiter gefassten gesellschaftlichen Auswirkungen des Projekts)

We developed novel method with which we could go beyond the current state of the art. We identified the nature of the dissipative phase transitions in hybrid systems and designed novel realizations for the self-organization of topologically interesting states and unconventional superconducting states.

Symmetry causes the coexistence of two very distinct steady states

Dynamic generation of topologically non-trivial phases by light pumping