Strong field physics in solids from a Wannier perspective
Abstract:
The recent discovery of high harmonic generation in solids [1], merging the fields of
strong field and condensed matter physics, opened the door for the direct observation of Bloch oscillations [1], all-optical reconstruction of the band structure [2] and direct observation of the influence of the Berry curvature in the optical response [3]. In this work, we will focus on high harmonic generation in strongly correlated and topological materials. I will demonstrate how high harmonic spectroscopy can be used to identify topological phases of matter and how the Berry curvature leaves its fingerprint in the nonlinear optical response of the material [4]. Using a combination of w-2w counter-rotating strong circular fields, we demonstrate that we are able to induce valley polarization in hexagonal 2D materials and use HHG spectroscopy to read the valley polarization [5,6,7]. At last, I will show how the use of Wannier orbitals can be useful in the calculation of the nonlinear optical response of solids [8,9].
References:
[1] S. Ghimire et al., Nat. Phys., 7 138-141 (2011)
[2] G. Vampa et al., Phys. Rev. Lett., 115 193603 (2015)
[3] H. Liu et al., Nat. Phys., 13 262-265 (2017)
[4] R. E. F. Silva, Á. Jiménez-Galán, B. Amorim, O. Smirnova, M. Ivanov, Nat. Phot., 13 849-854
(2019)
[5] Á. Jiménez-Galán, R. E. F. Silva, O. Smirnova, M. Ivanov, Nat. Phot., 10.1038/s41566-020-
00717-3 (2020)
[6] I. Tyulnev, Á. Jiménez-Galán, J. Poborska, L. Vamos, P. S. J. Russell, F. Tani, O. Smirnova, M. Ivanov, R. E. F. Silva, and J. Biegert, Nature 628, 746 (2024)
[7] S. Mitra, Á. Jiménez-Galán, M. Aulich, M. Neuhaus, R. E. F. Silva, V. Pervak, M. Kling, and S
Biswas, Nature 628, 752 (2024)
[8] R. E. F. Silva, F. Martin, M. Ivanov, Phys. Rev. B, 100 195201 (2019)
[9] E. B. Molinero, B. Amorim, M. Ivanov, G. G. Brown, G. Cistaro, J. M. V. P. Lopes, Á. Jiménez-Galán, P. San-Jose, and R. E. F. Silva, arXiv.2510.22064 (2025)
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