Geneaux Lab

Research focus

ERC Starting Grant · 2021

Controlling spin angular momentum with the field of light

Short pulses of light allow controlling electrons in solids with superb precision and outstanding speed, now reaching the sub-femtosecond timescale. Yet, our ability to act on the angular momentum of materials at these ultrafast time scales is surprisingly close to inexistent. This is because very little is known about direct, first-order coherent interactions between the electromagnetic field of light and angular momentum. Predictions show that these interactions are extraordinarily complex and comprise components of fundamentally different nature – originating from quantum many-body effects, relativistic quantum electrodynamics, or symmetry breaking. These coherent phenomena, however,…

From the public funding record at EU CORDIS. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.