Time-resolved THz Studies of Carrier Dynamics in Semiconductors, Superconductors, and Strongly-correlated Electron Materials

Time-resolved THz Studies of Carrier Dynamics in Semiconductors, Superconductors, and Strongly-correlated Electron Materials
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Release: 2006
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Perhaps the most important aspect of contemporary condensed matter physics involves understanding strong Coulomb interactions between the large number of electrons in a solid. Electronic correlations lead to the emergence of new system properties, such as metal-insulator transitions, superconductivity, magneto-resistance, Bose-Einstein condensation, the formation of excitonic gases, or the integer and fractional Quantum Hall effects. The discovery of high-Tc superconductivity in particular was a watershed event, leading to dramatic experimental and theoretical advances in the field of correlated-electron systems. Such materials often exhibit competition between the charge, lattice, spin, and orbital degrees of freedom, whose cause-effect relationships are difficult to ascertain. Experimental insight into the properties of solids is traditionally obtained by time-averaged probes, which measure e.g., linear optical spectra, electrical conduction properties, or the occupied band structure in thermal equilibrium. Many novel physical properties arise from excitations out of the ground state into energetically higher states by thermal, optical, or electrical means. This leads to fundamental interactions between the system's constituents, such as electron-phonon and electron-electron interactions, which occur on ultrafast timescales. While these interactions underlie the physical properties of solids, they are often only indirectly inferred from time-averaged measurements. Time-resolved spectroscopy, consequently, is playing an ever increasing role to provide insight into light-matter interaction, microscopic processes, or cause-effect relationships that determine the physics of complex materials. In the past, experiments using visible and near-infrared femtosecond pulses have been extensively employed, e.g. to follow relaxation and dephasing processes in metals and semiconductors. However, many basic excitations in strongly-correlated electron systems and nanoscale materials occur at lower energies. The terahertz (THz) regime is particularly rich in such fundamental resonances. This includes ubiquitous lattice vibrations and low-energy collective oscillations of conduction charges. In nanoscale materials, band structure quantization also yields novel infrared and THz transitions, including intersubband absorption in quantum wells. The formation of excitons in turn leads to low-energy excitations analogous to inter-level transitions in atoms. In transition-metal oxides, fundamental excitation gaps arise from charge pairing into superconducting condensates and other correlated states. This motivates the use of ultrafast THz spectroscopy as a powerful tool to study light-matter interactions and microscopic processes in nanoscale and correlated-electron materials. A distinct advantage of coherent THz pulses is that the amplitude and phase of the electric field can be measured directly, as the THz fields are coherent with the fs pulses from which they are generated. Using THz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS), both the real and imaginary parts of the response functions (such as the dielectric function) are obtained directly without the need for Kramers?Kronig transforms. The THz response can also be expressed in terms of absorption and refractive index, or as the optical conductivity. The optical conductivity describes the current response of a many-body system to an electric field, an ideal tool to study conducting systems. A second important advantage is the ultrafast time resolution that results from the short temporal duration of the THz time-domain sources. In particular, optical-pump THz-probe spectroscopy enables a delicate probe of the transient THz conductivity after optical photoexcitation. These experiments can provide insight into quasiparticle interactions, phase transitions, or nonequilibrium dynamics. In this chapter we will provide many such examples. Since THz spectroscopy of solids is a quickly expanding field.

New Horizons in Low-Dimensional Electron Systems

New Horizons in Low-Dimensional Electron Systems
Author: Hideo Aoki
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 498
Release: 1991-12-31
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780792313021

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In Bird of Passage by Rudolf Peierls, we find a paragraph in which he de scribes his Cambridge days in the 1930s: On these [relativistic field theory] problems my main contacts were Dirac, and the younger theoreticians. These included in particular Nevill (now Sir Nevill) Mott, perhaps the friendliest among many kind and friendly people we met then. Professor Kamimura became associated with Sir Rudolf Peierls in the 1950s, when he translated, with his colleagues, Peierls's 1955 textbook, Quantum Theory of Solids, into Japanese. This edition, to which Sir Rudolf himself contributed a preface, benefitted early generations of Japanese solid state physicists. Later in 1974/5, during a sabbatical year spent at the Cavendish Laboratory, Professor Kamimura met and began a long association with Sir Nevill Mott. In particular, they developed ideas for disordered systems. One of the outcomes is a paper coauthored by them on ESR-induced variable range hopping in doped semiconductors. A series of works on disordered systems, together with those on two-dimensional systems, have served as building blocks for Physics of Interacting Electrons in Disordered Systems, in the International Series of Monographs on Physics, coauthored by Aoki and published in 1989 by the Oxford University Press. Soon after Professor Kamimura obtained a D. Sc. in 1959 for the work on the ligand field theory under the supervision ofMasao Kotani, his strong con nections in the international physical community began when he worked at the Bell Telephone Laboratories in 1961/64.

Simulation with Entropy Thermodynamics

Simulation with Entropy Thermodynamics
Author: Christophe Goupil
Publisher: MDPI
Total Pages: 222
Release: 2021-03-11
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3036501142

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Beyond its identification with the second law of thermodynamics, entropy is a formidable tool for describing systems in their relationship with their environment. This book proposes to go through some of these situations where the formulation of entropy, and more precisely, the production of entropy in out-of-equilibrium processes, makes it possible to forge an approach to the behavior of very different systems. Whether for dimensioning structures; influencing parameter variability; or optimizing power, efficiency, or waste heat reduction, simulations based on entropy production offer a tool that is both compact and reliable. In the case of systems marked by complexity, it appears to be the only way. In that sense, realistic optimization can be carried out, integrating within the same framework both the system and all the constraints and boundary conditions that define it. Simulations based on entropy give the researcher a powerful analytical framework that crosses the disciplines of physics and links them together.

Terahertz Spectroscopy

Terahertz Spectroscopy
Author: Susan L. Dexheimer
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 358
Release: 2017-12-19
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 142000770X

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The development of new sources and methods in the terahertz spectral range has generated intense interest in terahertz spectroscopy and its application in an array of fields. Presenting state-of-the-art terahertz spectroscopic techniques, Terahertz Spectroscopy: Principles and Applications focuses on time-domain methods based on femtosecond laser sources and important recent applications in physics, materials science, chemistry, and biomedicine. The first section of the book examines instrumentation and methods for terahertz spectroscopy. It provides a comprehensive treatment of time-domain terahertz spectroscopic measurements, including methods for the generation and detection of terahertz radiation, methods for determining optical constants from time-domain measurements, and the use of femtosecond time-resolved techniques. The last two sections explore a variety of applications of terahertz spectroscopy in physics, materials science, chemistry, and biomedicine. With chapters contributed by leading experts in academia, industry, and research, this volume thoroughly discusses methods and applications, setting it apart from other recent books in this emerging terahertz field.

Quantum Field Theory of Non-equilibrium States

Quantum Field Theory of Non-equilibrium States
Author: Jørgen Rammer
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2011-03-03
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9780521188005

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Quantum field theory is the application of quantum mechanics to systems with infinitely many degrees of freedom. This 2007 textbook presents quantum field theoretical applications to systems out of equilibrium. It introduces the real-time approach to non-equilibrium statistical mechanics and the quantum field theory of non-equilibrium states in general. It offers two ways of learning how to study non-equilibrium states of many-body systems: the mathematical canonical way and an easy intuitive way using Feynman diagrams. The latter provides an easy introduction to the powerful functional methods of field theory, and the use of Feynman diagrams to study classical stochastic dynamics is considered in detail. The developed real-time technique is applied to study numerous phenomena in many-body systems. Complete with numerous exercises to aid self-study, this textbook is suitable for graduate students in statistical mechanics and condensed matter physics.

Dynamics at Solid State Surfaces and Interfaces, Volume 1

Dynamics at Solid State Surfaces and Interfaces, Volume 1
Author: Uwe Bovensiepen
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 631
Release: 2010-11-29
Genre: Science
ISBN: 352763343X

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This two-volume work covers ultrafast structural and electronic dynamics of elementary processes at solid surfaces and interfaces, presenting the current status of photoinduced processes. Providing valuable introductory information for newcomers to this booming field of research, it investigates concepts and experiments, femtosecond and attosecond time-resolved methods, as well as frequency domain techniques. The whole is rounded off by a look at future developments.

Optical Techniques for Solid-State Materials Characterization

Optical Techniques for Solid-State Materials Characterization
Author: Rohit P. Prasankumar
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 735
Release: 2016-04-19
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1439814376

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Over the last century, numerous optical techniques have been developed to characterize materials, giving insight into their optical, electronic, magnetic, and structural properties and elucidating such diverse phenomena as high-temperature superconductivity and protein folding. Optical Techniques for Solid-State Materials Characterization provides