Year: 2002
Type: article
Abstract: We review the application of ultrafast optical spectroscopy in the study of correlated electron materials. The emphasis is on all-optical pump–probe and optical pump–far-infrared probe experiments on (a) colossal-magnetoresistance manganites and (b) high-temperature superconductors. The experimental techniques are discussed followed by a brief review of ultrafast electron dynamics in conventional wide-band metals which serves as a starting point in understanding the dynamics in more complex metallic systems. In the half-metallic manganites, the quasiparticle dynamics in the ferromagnetic metallic state can be understood in terms of a dynamic transfer of spectral weight which is influenced by the lattice and spin degrees of freedom. For the high-temperature superconductors, ultrafast quasiparticle dynamics are sensitive to the order parameter and superconducting pair recovery occurs on a picosecond timescale. These results show that, in general, ultrafast optical spectroscopy provides a sensitive method to probe the dynamics of quasiparticles at the Fermi level.
Authors: R D Averitt, A J Taylor
Institution: Los Alamos National Laboratory
Language: English
Subfield: Condensed Matter Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funder: U.S. Department of Energy
OpenAlex ID: W2047906292