Title of the talk: Cavity-Controlled Dynamics and Coherences of Polaritons

Abstract: Quantum states of the light, e.g., single photons, entanglement and squeezing, open up a new avenue for spectroscopy by utilizing the parameters of quantum optical fields as novel control knobs and through the variation of photon statistics. With the advancements of cavity quantum electrodynamics and light source technology, imaging and controlling the electron and vibrational motions of molecules can be achieved, towards unprecedented resolution and precision, not accessible by the classical light pulses. Two key issues emerge at nanoscale: quantum states of photons and strong matter-light interaction. The underlying physics is still an open issue for molecules and spectroscopy.

In this talk, I will present an overview of our recent work on multidimensional spectroscopic probes for nonequilibrium dynamics of complex molecules. Several spectroscopic signals will be covered: multidimensional coherent probe, photon-coincidence counting, and Raman spectra with entangled photons. Microscopic models for molecular polaritons using density matrix and Heisenberg-Langevin approach will be incorporated for a unified understanding of the spectroscopic signals.

[Speaker biography]

Prof. Zhedong Zhang is now an Assistant Professor in Department of Physics at City University of Hong Kong. He obtained his Ph.D. in physics from Stony Brook University in 2016. Since then, he has been working with Shaul Mukamel, Girish Agarwal and Marlan Scully (NAS, FRS & AAAS), as a postdoctoral scholar. He received the Robert A. Welch Postdoctoral Fellowship in 2020. Prof. Zhang is a member of American Physical Society.