Giacomo Ghiringhelli: The X-ray vision of quantum matter

Speaker:

Giacomo Ghiringhelli (Politecnico di Milano)

Title: "The X-ray vision of quantum matter"

Abstract: 

Many technologies fundamental to contemporary daily life -such as memory banks, sensors, and transistors- are based on complex material technologies. In complex materials, the interactions between spin, orbital, charge and lattice are strong, and give rise to emergent phenomena. The existence of advanced cutting edge technologies thus stem from the very quantum mechanical properties of matter, as this year's Nobel Prize in physics highlights.  Condensed matter physics has driven the development of advanced methods to probe, study, and develop both the theory underneath, and the creation of increasingly necessary technologies such as Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory (MRAM), or Field Effect Transistors (FET). 
In this Colloquium, I will introduce the world of complex materials and their fascinating physics. I will also give an overview of the contemporary, advanced methods that allow us to probe them. Among the latter, I will illustrate how resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) -which stands out for its ability to capture both local and collective excitations with momentum resolution-  has dramatically advanced our understanding of quantum matter, with a focus on its transformative impact on the study of high-temperature superconductors.