Talk: Emergent quantum states in driven one-dimensional cuprates

Organizer:
Daniele Fausti

Speaker:
Sophia TenHuisen, Havard University

Title:
Emergent quantum states in driven one-dimensional cuprates

Abstract:
Ultrafast optical excitation of quantum materials can reveal hidden electronic states without equilibrium analogs. One-dimensional correlated systems are particularly compelling in this context, as they host rich many-body physics while remaining amenable to accurate theoretical modeling. Using time-resolved x-ray absorption and resonant inelastic scattering, we show how tailored optical excitation induces emergent driven states in the one-dimensional cuprate Sr2CuO3 and the ladder compound Sr14Cu24O41. In both systems, photoexcitation drives a redistribution of charge carriers detected by time-resolved XAS, while time-resolved RIXS exposes new low-energy charge excitations absent in the unperturbed state. Magnetic correlations remain largely intact, underscoring the selectivity of the light-matter interaction. In Sr2CuO3, these photoinduced states decay rapidly, whereas in Sr14Cu24O41 they evolve into metastable configurations persisting for nanoseconds. This combined ultrafast-x-ray approach defines a new framework for capturing and designing emergent quantum phases in correlated systems.