Abstract:
Light-matter interaction is at the heart of most optical processes we
are familiar with such as absorption, emission and scattering. These
are normally treated by assuming that light does not significantly
modify the underlying electronic states of the material it interacts
with. The extreme case where light-matter interaction is so strong that
it must be treated non-pertubatively has been termed the strong-coupling
regime. In this regime, new half-light, half-matter quasiparticles
called polaritons emerge. We will describe some of the fascinating new
physics that occur in this regime such as how polaritons can be used to
create room-temperature analogs to Bose-Einstein condensates and
superfluid He using light instead of atoms. We will also discuss some of
the unique applications that emerge when organic molecules are used as
the active medium, such as using strong light-matter coupling to
increase the brightness of inefficient molecular emitters, engineer the
response of solar cells and photodetectors and modify photochemistry.
Short bio:
Stéphane Kéna-Cohen is an Assistant Professor of Engineering Physics at
Polytechnique Montréal and the Canadian Research Chair in Hybrid and
Molecular Photonics. He received his BEng from McGill (2004) and PhD
from Princeton University (2010), both in Electrical Engineering. He
then moved to the Physics Department at Imperial College London, where
he spent 4 years as a post-doctoral researcher and Junior Research
Fellow. His background as an engineer and physicist is reflected in the
work he does. Part of his group works on the development of
optoelectronic devices based on organic and hybrid semiconductors. He
collaborates with several multinational companies in the area and holds 2
patents related to organic electronics. At the same time, he devotes
important efforts towards studying exotic quantum effects in molecular
systems and gaining a deep understanding of the inner workings of new
materials.
About the CAP Lecture Tour
The CAP Lecture Tour for undergraduates is supported by contributions of individual and corporate members to the CAP Foundation,
as well as by participating physics departments. Special invited talks
in this program are scheduled at universities across the country from
January to April of each year.
The goals of the lecture tour are to share the excitement of current
developments in physics with undergraduate students across the country;
to promote and celebrate the study of physics in Canada; to enhance
collaborations between CAP and Canadian physics departments; to increase
the visibility of CAP in the Canadian university community, and to
promote student memberships in the CAP.
Speakers are CAP members who are nominated by their department heads
or colleagues for their outstanding ability to present an exciting topic
in physics to undergraduate students with clarity and enthusiasm. The
CAP calls for speaker nominations each fall and publishes a list of
titles and abstracts on its web site. Student groups at participating
departments are invited to make their own speaker selections; the tour
is organized on a regional basis and is overseen by a national
coordinator who reports to the CAP Executive.
Related Links
CAP Lecture Tour website
