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  6. Quantum Photon Science
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  8. Imaging quantum many-body states

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Laboratory for X-ray Nanoscience and Technologies (LXN)

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    • X-ray Nano-Optics
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        • Imaging quantum many-body states
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Imaging quantum many-body states

Low temperatures are a pre-requisite for the exploration of many quantum regimes of matter. This is the case because a condition must be reached where the energy associated with quantum fluctuations is substantially larger than thermal noise floor. Quantum fluctuations can then condense and new electronic ground states emerge. These often feature complex phase diagrams and unconventional characteristics, such as superconducting or non-Fermi liquid properties, or also non-Abelian statistics. More generally, many of these macroscopic quantum many-body states entail coherence and superposition of states which can be tuned by non-thermal external parameters, such as static magnetic fields or electromagnetic field pulses.

SLAC_CoherentLockIn_FeSe
Greg Stewart/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

The difficulty of combining low-temperature sample environments with photon experiments stems from the radiative heat input, particularly in pump-probe schemes where a sample is not only probed, but also excited by an electromagnetic field pulse. Consequently, only few possibilities exist world-wide for low-temperature, photon-based inspection of electronic states.

Our focus is to realize bespoke sample environments and combine them with novel measurement schemes at PSI’s accelerator-based lightsources, namely at SwissFEL and the Cristallina-Q endstation, for structural and spectroscopic studies deep in the quantum limit. We aim at using high magnetic fields and/or employing coherent driving protocols to directly image electronic quantum many-body states via time-resolved x-ray scattering.

Recent publications

Nonthermal pathways to ultrafast control in quantum materials
A. de la Torre, D. M. Kennes, M. Claassen, S. Gerber, J. W. McIver, M. A. Sentef
Rev. Mod. Phys. 93, 041002 (2021)

Femtosecond electron-phonon lock-in by photoemission and x-ray free-electron laser
S. Gerber, S.-L. Yang, D. Zhu, H. Soifer, J. A. Sobota, S. Rebec, J. J. Lee, T. Jia, B. Moritz, C. Jia, A. Gauthier, Y. Li, D. Leuenberger, Y. Zhang, L. Chaix, W. Li, H. Jang, J.-S. Lee, M. Yi, G. L. Dakovski, S. Song, J. M. Glownia, S. Nelson, K. W. Kim, Y.-D. Chuang, Z. Hussain, R. G. Moore, T. P. Devereaux, W.-S. Lee, P. S. Kirchmann, Z.-X. Shen
Science 357, 71 (2017)

Recent highlights

18 October 2021
Ultraschnelle Kontrolle von Quantenmaterialien

Ultrafast control of quantum materials

Media Releases Materials Research SwissFEL

Using light to fundamentally change the properties of solids

Read more
7 July 2017
teaserbild.jpg

Scientists get first direct look at how electrons ‘dance’ with vibrating atoms

Scientists at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University - one of the leading authors, Simon Gerber, has in the meantime relocated to PSI - have made the first direct measurements, and by far the most precise ones, of how electrons move in sync with atomic vibrations rippling through an quantum material, in the present study an unconventional superconductor, as if they were “dancing" to the same beat.

Read more
7 July 2017

Research experience from California benefits Swiss X-ray free-electron laser SwissFEL

Media Releases Large Research Facilities Future Technologies SwissFEL

An X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) is capable of visualizing extremely fast structural and electronic processes. Pilot experiments will take place at the PSI's Swiss Free-Electron Laser (SwissFEL) from the end of 2017 on. Two current publications in Science and Nature Communications demonstrate the kind of outstanding scientific work that is enabled by such facilities. The work was carried out at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) in California. Two of the leading authors behind these studies have now relocated to the PSI in order to share their expertise as SwissFEL expands its capabilities.

Read more
This is a text from the PSI media archive. The contents may be out-of-date.

Project members

McConnell Aidan
Aidan Gabriel McConnell Montoya

PhD Student

+41 56 310 53 00
aidan.mcconnell@psi.ch
Clemence Mael Picture
Maël André Clémence

PhD Student

mael.clemence@psi.ch
Dr. Jakub Vonka

Tenure-track scientist

Quantum Photon Science - SwissFEL Cristallina

+41 56 310 37 83
jakub.vonka@psi.ch
Alexander Steppke
Dr. Alexander Steppke

Project Scientist

alexander.steppke@psi.ch
HUA Nelson
Dr. Nelson Nientsu Hua
+41 56 310 51 20
nelson.hua@psi.ch
Photo of Robert Kälin
Robert Georg Kälin

Technician

+41 56 310 21 58
robert.kaelin@psi.ch
Perrass Raphael
Raphael Perrass

Technician HF

+41 56 310 26 05
raphael.perrass@psi.ch
Bill Pedrini
Dr. Bill Francesco Pedrini

Scientist

+41 56 310 33 71
bill.pedrini@psi.ch
Simon Gerber
Dr. Simon Gerber

Group Leader "Quantum Photon Science"

+41 56 310 39 65
simon.gerber@psi.ch
Gabiel Aeppli
Prof. Dr. Gabriel Aeppli

Head of Photon Science Division (PSD)
 

+41 56 310 42 32
gabriel.aeppli@psi.ch

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Contact

Dr. Simon Gerber

Laboratory for X-ray Nanoscience and Technologies
Paul Scherrer Institut
5232 Villigen PSI
Switzerland

Telephone: +41 56 310 39 65
E-mail: simon.gerber@psi.ch
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