Physics Colloquium

Limited attendance in Feynman Lecture Hall, 201 E. Bridge to first 100 people. All attendees must show valid Caltech ID upon entry. Join via Zoom: https://caltech.zoom.us/j/89237465190. Meeting ID: 892 3746 5190

Quantum systems host spectacular excited-state effects, but many of these phenomena remain challenging to control and, consequently, technologically under-explored. My research, therefore, focuses on how quantum systems behave, particularly away from equilibrium, and how we can harness these effects. This talk will present a pedagogical introduction to theoretical and computational approaches to describe excited-states in quantum matter, and predicting emergent states created by strongly non-equilibrium external drives. Understanding the role of such nonequilibrium light-matter interactions in the regime of correlated electronic systems is of paramount importance to fields of study across condensed matter physics, quantum optics, and quantum chemistry. I will give an outlook on driving correlated quantum matter to control the coupled electronic and lattice degrees-of-freedom, and connect these recent predictions with ultrafast experiments underway.