Q-light-matter · Nonequilibrium Quantum Matter Coupled To Quantum Light

Nonequilibrium Quantum Matter Coupled To Quantum Light

The project ”Nonequilibrium Quantum Matter Coupled To Quantum Light” studies how coupling material to light could be used to probe and to control its properties. Interaction between light and matter is a fundamental physical phenomenon that could be observed when atoms are coupled to photons in optical cavities. Experimental progress in coupling atoms, molecules, quantum dots and Josephson junctions to cavity photons opens the possibility of using light to control and design properties of the material. On the applicational side, it has been previously demonstrated experimentally that it is possible to enhance conductivity in organic semiconductors, to modify the superconducting transition temperatures, and even to induce topological phases of matter by coupling materials to electromagnetic field. Topology is an important field of research in modern condensed matter physics due to its application for quantum technologies. Topological superconductors and insulators are examples of the materials that could be used for such applications. Topological superconductivity is associated with formation of zero-energy modes at the edges of the system, which are called Majorana bound states. Such bound states could be used as qubits for topological quantum computing due to their stability against perturbations. The prospect of using Majorana bound states as topological qubits is currently hampered by the difficulty in observing them in transport experiments. Proposing a novel approach based on spectroscopy with photons in microwave cavities is highly needed at the moment. Electrical devices based on Josephson junctions have many practical applications such as qubits, metamaterials, Josephson bifurcation amplifiers or detectors of mesoscopic systems, such as rf-SQUIDS or topological materials. The current flowing in the spectrometer is proportional to the photon absorption rate that contains the information about the mesoscopic system. Building a theory for the Josephson spectroscopy opens a way to probe new physics in various mesoscopic systems. When the light-matter coupling is strong, cavity photons can modify material properties. Using light to control topological properties of quantum matter is an important open question in this perspective. The overall objectives addressed in the projects have been to study the following physical phenomena: (1) Strong coupling of electrons and photons in mesoscopic systems; (2) Collective phases of electrons and photons out of equilibrium; (3) Generation of topological states by photons.

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