Event

Upon excitation with an intense laser pulse, materials can undergo a non-equilibrium phase transition through pathways different from those in thermal equilibrium. The mechanism underlying these photoinduced phase transitions has long been researched, but many details in this ultrafast, non-adiabatic regime still remain to be clarified. To this end, we studied light induced phase transitions in two different charge density wave (CDW) systems. First, we investigated the photo-induced melting of a unidirectional CDW in LaTe3. Using a suite of time-resolved probes, we independently track the amplitude and phase dynamics of the CDW. We find that a fast (approximately 1 picosecond) recovery of the CDW amplitude is followed by a slower re-establishment of phase coherence dictated by the presence of topological defects in CDW. Furthermore, after the suppression of the original CDW by photoexcitation, a different, competing CDW along the perpendicular direction emerges. The timescales characterizing the relaxation of this new transient CDW and the reestablishment of the original CDW are nearly identical, which points towards a strong competition between the two orders. Secondly, I will also report the realization of optical chiral induction and the observation of a gyrotropically ordered CDW phase in 1T -TiSe2. Our results provide a framework for understanding other photoinduced phase transitions and for unleashing novel states of matter that are “trapped” under equilibrium conditions.