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Theoretical Studies Of Photoinduced Dynamics And Topological States In Materials With Strong Electron-Lattice Couplings, Linghua Zhu

Dissertations

First, we study the nonequilibrium dynamics of photoinduced phase transitions in charge ordered (CO) systems with a strong electron-lattice interaction and analyze the interplay between electrons, periodic lattice distortions, and a phonon thermal reservoir. Simulations based on a tight-binding Hamiltonian and Boltzmann equations reveal partially decoupled oscillations of the electronic order parameter and the periodic lattice distortion during CO melting, which becomes more energy efficient with lower photon energy. The cooling rate of the electron system correlates with the CO gap dynamics, responsible for an order of magnitude decrease of the cooling rate upon the gap reopening. The work also …