Colloquium: Dr. Vinod Menon | City College of New York

TITLE:  Light-Matter Hybrids: From engineering quantum materials to out-of-equilibrium condensates

ABSTRACT: Strong light–matter interaction leads to the formation of hybrid quasiparticles - polaritons, that inherit properties from both photons and material excitations. In this talk, I will first introduce the concept of strong light–matter coupling and the unique advantages offered by polaritonic systems. I will then discuss our recent work on realizing magneto-polaritons in the van der Waals magnet CrSBr, demonstrating how the magneto-optic response can be controlled by tuning the light and matter content of the polariton states. I will also highlight the role of spin waves (magnons) in modifying excitonic interactions within this material platform, as well as the potential of this system for microwave-to-optical transduction.

In the second part of the talk, I will present the formation of out-of-equilibrium polariton condensates at room temperature using organic molecular excitons and their role in energy transfer in a donor-acceptor system. Following this, I will discuss approaches for creating optically imprinted lattices in these systems and its potential for physical computing.

Bio:
Vinod Menon is a Professor of Physics at the City College of New York and doctoral faculty at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY). He is a fellow of the American Physical Society (APS), Optica (formerly Optical Society of America), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and an IEEE Distinguished Lecturer in Photonics (2018-2020). More details about his group can be found at: https://lanmp.org/