Apr 5 – 6, 2017
Sapienza Università di Roma e Sezione INFN di Roma
Europe/Rome timezone

Nonlinear optical effects and third-harmonic generation in superconductors: Cooper pairs versus Higgs mode contribution

Apr 5, 2017, 5:00 PM
30m
Sala Lauree (Sapienza Università di Roma e Sezione INFN di Roma)

Sala Lauree

Sapienza Università di Roma e Sezione INFN di Roma

Speaker

Dr Tommaso Cea (IIT)

Description

The recent observation of a transmitted THz pulse oscillating at three times the frequency of the incident light paves the way to a powerful protocol to access resonant excitations in a superconductor. Here we show that this nonlinear optical process is dominated by light-induced excitation of Cooper pairs, while the collective amplitude (Higgs) fluctuations of the superconducting order parameter give in general a negligible contribution. We also predict a nontrivial dependence of the signal on the direction of the light polarization with respect to the lattice symmetry, which can be tested in systems such as, e.g., cuprate superconductors.

Primary author

Dr Tommaso Cea (IIT)

Co-author

Dr Lara Benfatto (ISC - CNR)

Presentation materials

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