Speaker
Description
The controlled manipulation of quantum materials with electromagnetic fields offers routes to states of matter that are inaccessible under equilibrium conditions. In this talk, I will discuss developments toward this goal, from nonthermal pathways and Floquet engineering with coherent light [1] to the control of quantum materials through coupling to quantized electromagnetic fields in optical cavities [2]. These approaches are particularly promising in low-dimensional materials and heterostructures, where electronic structure, correlations, geometry, and the electromagnetic environment can all be engineered with considerable flexibility.
I will first discuss how coherent driving can reshape electronic states and topology, establishing Floquet engineering as a route toward dynamical control of quantum matter. I will then turn from classical driving fields to cavity quantum materials, where vacuum, thermal, and driven electromagnetic fluctuations themselves become control parameters. This motivates the broader concept of fluctuation engineering: by tailoring the spectral, spatial, and modal structure of the electromagnetic environment, fluctuations can be used as a resource to reshape interactions, collective modes, and phase behavior [2,3].
Finally, I will present our recent work on resonant light-enhanced pairing in the correlated molecular superconductor K3C60 [4]. Microscopic many-body calculations reveal a symmetry-constrained two-photon pathway into an excited many-body state with strongly enhanced pair correlations. This result suggests a broader paradigm for quantum-material control: rather than merely dressing an equilibrium state, tailored electromagnetic fields can be used to selectively navigate the many-body spectrum and access target states with desirable quantum correlations. I will discuss how Floquet control, fluctuation engineering, and selective many-body navigation may provide complementary ingredients for designing and stabilizing nonequilibrium quantum phases, with opportunities ranging from molecular superconductors to two-dimensional materials and heterostructures.
References
[1] A. de la Torre et al., “Colloquium: Nonthermal pathways to ultrafast control in quantum materials,” Rev. Mod. Phys. 93, 041002 (2021).
[2] F. Schlawin, D. M. Kennes, and M. A. Sentef, “Cavity quantum materials,” Appl. Phys. Rev. 9, 011312 (2022).
[3] H. M. Bretscher et al., “Fluctuation engineering in cavity quantum materials,” arXiv:2604.08666 (2026), to appear in Nature Physics.