Quantum Optics of Correlated Electron Systems
Coordinators: Martin Claassen, Mohammad Hafezi, Michael Sentef, and Susanne Yelin
Scientific Advisors: I. Cirac, Eugene Demler, Tony Heinz, and Atac Imamoglu
Motivated conceptually by quantum information science, remarkable recent advances in quantum optics have enabled control and manipulation of individual excitations in electronic, magnetic, photonic, and phononic degrees of freedom. The objective of this program is to explore the impact of these developments on probing and manipulating correlated quantum matter. Already, time-resolved control experiments on solid-state systems have made rapid progress in creating and stabilizing electronic quantum states including superconductors, correlated insulators, and magnetic and topological states of matter. The goal is to construct theoretical tools that will not only improve our understanding of these existing experimental results but also foster new concepts that utilize light, either in an active or passive fashion, to prepare, control, and detect systems of correlated electrons. Some of the questions we hope to actively discuss during the program include: “Can ideas developed in the context of atomic arrays and optical lattices be adapted to a solid-state material platform?”, “Can quantum-optical techniques lead to better non-equilibrium control schemes for quantum materials?”, and “Can strong light-matter interactions with materials embedded in passive cavities provide new handles for interrogating and controlling quantum matter?”