"Ultrafast Dynamics and Strong-Field Phenomena in Liquid Crystals" (Dr. Laura Cattaneo)

Date: Jun 15, 2026
Time: 09:15 AM - 10:15 AM (Local Time Germany)
Speaker: Dr. Laura Cattaneo
Location: Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics
Room: Herbert Walther Lecture Hall

Liquid crystals serve as a uniquely tunable platform to explore the fundamental coupling between electronic, vibrational, and orientational degrees of freedom in soft matter. By driving these systems with strong terahertz fields, we uncover a complex dual response where liquid-like Kerr nonlinearities are superimposed with coherent vibrational oscillations. Remarkably, these oscillations persist in both the nematic and isotropic phases, revealing a landscape of microscopic order and short-range structural correlations that remain hidden to equilibrium observables.

This sensitivity to local organization is further exploited in the strong-field regime through high-harmonic generation (HHG), which acts as a powerful probe of mesophase symmetry. Because the harmonic yield and angular emission are directly modulated by the degree of molecular alignment, HHG can uniquely map the transition from ordered nematic directors to randomized orientations. Ultimately, by tracking these strong-field signals across phase transitions, we demonstrate a highly sensitive method for resolving the evolving molecular environment and its underlying symmetries.

Dr. Laura Cattaneo is an independent researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics. Students of the IMPRS-APS are highly encouraged to join her talk at the attoworld-seminar.