Light-enabled transport phenomena in van der Waals heterostructures

ended

Van der Waals heterostructures consisting of atomically thin materials, such as graphene and Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMD), have generated a tremendous amount of excitement in physics over the past decade. Embedding these systems in optical cavities leads to new hybrid excitations, known as exciton-polaritons, which govern the properties of the light-matter system. In this action, we aim to harness the unique properties of monolayer materials to explore exotic many-body phenomena that emerge due to the complex interplay of optical and electronic excitations. First, we plan to develop a new prototyping platform to rapidly and deterministically prepare high-quality van der Waals heterostructures, which will allow us to investigate a wider range of parameters than ever before. Our broad physics goal is to understand how electron transport is influenced by the presence of exciton-polaritons in different scenarios. In the first set of experiments, we will investigate polaron physics in a Bose-Fermi mixture formed by electrons and polaritons in a single TMD monolayer from a transport perspective. This will subsequently pave the way to exploring novel approaches to enhance interactions between electrons using exciton-polaritons as a mediator. A potentially ground-breaking consequence of our work will be the light-induced modification of transport properties of the system and in particular the enhancement of the critical temperature for superconductivity. The proposed research will therefore have a significant impact on our understanding of transport phenomena.