Colloquium with Dr. Iliya Esin, Postdoctoral Scholar Research Associate, California Institute of Technology

Manipulation of quantum matter via external stimuli stands at the forefront of quantum materials science. In this talk, I will explore the potential of using coherent bosonic fields—such as photons, phonons, and polaritons—for the on-demand manipulation of material properties. A judicious selection of system configuration and bosonic driving field can lead to exotic non-equilibrium phenomena, including topological phases, spontaneous symmetry breaking, and metal-to-insulator transitions. In the pursuit of realizing effective driving sources, I will introduce our latest efforts to develop phonon lasers. These devices offer a promising tool for inducing and probing novel non-equilibrium phases in solid-state materials, with potential applications spanning electronics, quantum sensing, and computation.