Ultrafast X-ray spectroscopy of driven quantum materials
Matteo Mitrano
Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
Abstract
A key frontier in modern condensed matter physics is the use of light to coherently control quantum materials and access many-body states beyond those available at equilibrium. Recent experiments have revealed a variety of emergent dynamical states, yet their microscopic origin often remains elusive. Here, I will discuss the use of ultrafast X-ray spectroscopy as a tool to discover and control nonequilibrium quantum matter. Focusing on strongly correlated electron systems, I will show how optical fields can generate fractionalized quantum liquids and stabilize metastable electronic states with unusual dynamical properties.
Bio
Matteo Mitrano is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics at Harvard University. He is an experimental condensed matter physicist focused on the study of quantum materials and their optical control through advanced ultrafast optical and X-ray scattering methods. He received his PhD in 2015 for his work at the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter in Hamburg (Germany) and then continued his research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (USA) as a Feodor Lynen postdoctoral fellow funded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. In 2020, he joined the Department of Physics at Harvard University as an Assistant Professor. His work has been recognized with several awards, including the U.S. Department of Energy Early Career Award (2022), the IUPAP Early Career Award for Structural Dynamics (2024), and Sloan Research Fellowship (2026).
