Abstract
The last few years have seen a revolution in our understanding of attosecond nonlinear optics such as high harmonic generation: we have started to appreciate that highly non-equilibrium quantum dynamics of matter can endow its nonlinear optical response with distinct quantum properties.
I will present some of our latest results describing how quantum dynamics of even simple material systems, such as small molecules and solids, can be used to generate quantum states of light.
I will then revisit the classical Quantum Optics problem of super-radiance, but now triggered by a strong classical driving field. This field generates multiple excitations, setting up conditions for Dicke super-radiance. However, I will consider the case when the cavity is tuned far away from the atomic resonance, suppressing the possibility of the multiply excited medium to release its excitation. Time resolving the super-radiant emission generated under such unusual conditions clearly shows how the atomic ensemble undergoes a phase transition from many uncorrelated, even if phase-locked, excitations to a correlated many-body state that allows the atoms to overcome the constraints imposed by the cavity by working in concert.
Anyone interested is welcome to attend.