6533b830fe1ef96bd12971fa
RESEARCH PRODUCT
The Ferroelectric Photo-Groundstate of SrTiO$_3$: Cavity Materials Engineering
Hannes HübenerShunsuke A. SatoShunsuke A. SatoChristian SchäferDongbin ShinSimone LatiniAngel RubioAngel RubioUmberto De GiovanniniUmberto De Giovanninisubject
Phase transitionMaterials science3SrTiO3PolaritonsFOS: Physical sciences02 engineering and technologyStrong light–matter hybrids01 natural sciencesSettore FIS/03 - Fisica Della MateriaCondensed Matter::Materials SciencequantumQuantum state0103 physical sciencesPolariton010306 general physicsquantum paraelectric to ferroelectric transitionsQuantumCavity materials engineeringQuantum fluctuationcavity materials engineeringCondensed Matter - Materials ScienceMultidisciplinaryCondensed matter physicsSrTiOMaterials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci)Quantum paraelectric to ferroelectric transitionComputational Physics (physics.comp-ph)021001 nanoscience & nanotechnologyFerroelectricitystructural phase-transitionscavity phase diagramExcited statetrong light-matter hybrids0210 nano-technologyGround statePhysics - Computational Physicspolaritonsdescription
Significance Controlling collective phenomena in quantum materials is a promising route toward engineering material properties on demand. Strong THz lasers have been successful at inducing ferroelectricity in S r T i O 3 . Here we demonstrate, from atomistic calculations, that cavity quantum vacuum fluctuations induce a change in the collective phase of S r T i O 3 in the strong light–matter coupling regime. Under these conditions, the ferroelectric phase is stabilized as the ground state, instead of the quantum paraelectric one. We conceptualize this light–matter hybrid state as a material photo ground state: Fundamental properties such as crystal structure, phonon frequencies, and the collective phase of a material are determined by the quantum light–matter coupling in equilibrium conditions. Cavity-coupling adds a new dimension to the phase diagram of S r T i O 3 .
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-08-03 |