CQC Speaker Event: David Hsieh @ Caltech
Please fill out the luma to RSVP: https://luma.com/a572si0b
Who: Professor David Hsieh (In-Person)
When: October 20th, 4:00–5:00 pmWhere: Lauritsen 269, Caltech
Talk: Quantum Materials far-from-equilibrium
Speaker bio:Prof. David Hsieh is an experimental condensed matter physicist. He focuses on the search for exotic broken symmetry phases or topologically non-trivial phases in strongly correlated and strongly spin-orbit coupled systems, as well as in dynamically driven out-of-equilibrium systems. Prof. Hsieh earned his B.S in Physics and Mathematics from Stanford University in 2003 and his Ph.D. in Physics from Princeton University in 2009 where he worked on both neutron scattering studies of highly frustrated magnets as well as synchrotron-based spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy of topological insulators. From 2009 to 2012 Prof. Hsieh was a Pappalardo Postdoctoral Fellow in Physics at MIT. There he developed several table-top laser-based techniques to study the ultrafast opto-electronic properties of topological insulators and wider classes of correlated spin-orbit coupled systems. He joined the Caltech faculty in 2012. Prof. Hsieh's honors include the William L. McMillan Award in condensed matter physics, the Sloan Research Fellowship, the Packard Fellowship in Science and Engineering, the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists & Engineers, the Brown Investigator Award, and the Moore Foundation Experimental Physics Investigator Award.
Abstract:
To date, the search for new electronic phases of matter has centered largely on materials in thermal equilibrium. Approaches such as chemical synthesis of exotic structures, application of high magnetic fields, and the twisting and stacking of exfoliated crystals have enabled the engineering of novel Hamiltonians that host unconventional quantum ground states. Dynamically driven materials offer a powerful and complementary route to expand this search. By using light to excite materials far from equilibrium, one can potentially transiently stabilize electronic phases that are not only difficult to access, but even fundamentally forbidden, under equilibrium conditions. In this talk, I will discuss several of the most actively explored excitation schemes and share some of our recent results on these topics. I will also highlight the challenges that lie ahead and speculate on ways to address them.
Everyone is welcome: minimal technical background is required. Come learn and ask questions. And yes, snacks will be provided.