Driving Topology with Light

Invited

Abstract

Optical manipulation of materials properties far from equilibrium has been an emerging field over the past few years, allowing access to transient melting of existing phases and onset of new electronic orders. The prospect that topology can also be controlled and switched with light is offering a new promising way to design new topological properties of solids. Here I will present spectroscopic studies in the time and spin domains of a 3D topological insulator and a 2D semimetal. Our studies reveal how the surface states forms and coevolve through a topological phase transition in the 3D topological insulator and how the transition from a topological trivial to a non trivial state can be induced. We also discuss the effect of structural properties in stabilizing these phases. The effect of resonant and non resonant excitations for variable pump strength will be also discussed.

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Presenters

  • Alessandra Lanzara

    University of California Berkeley, University of California, Univ of California - Berkeley, Physics Department - University California, Berkeley, Materials Sciences Division - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Department of Physics, Univ of California - Berkeley, Univ. of California - Berkeley

Authors

  • Alessandra Lanzara

    University of California Berkeley, University of California, Univ of California - Berkeley, Physics Department - University California, Berkeley, Materials Sciences Division - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Department of Physics, Univ of California - Berkeley, Univ. of California - Berkeley