Talk 28.05.2018

Speaker: Dragan Mihailovic
Jozef Stefan Institute, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

Title: Unexpected emergent states of matter created out of equilibrium in layered chalcogenides

Abstract:
The idea that many body systems in complex materials may self-organise into long range order under highly non-equilibrium conditions suggests that entirely new emergent states with new and unexpected functionalities might be created in this way. The route for creation of such states is not limited to symmetry-breaking phase transitions, and entirely novel mechanisms may come into play. I will discuss recent experimental findings of mesoscopically textured metastable states with long range order created through density-driven non-equilibrium transitions. Combining ultrafast optical pulse excitation with scanning tunneling microscopy under various non-equilibrium conditions we find unambiguous evidence for intertwined long range electronic vortex orders appearing through a topological transition. Further out of equilibrium we observe an entirely new very dense metastable form of amorphous, 2-dimensional quantum matter. These discoveries open the way to new mechanisms for the creation of emergent states of matter under highly non-equilibrium conditions.