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  • Letter
  • Open Access

Tuning the terahertz response of liquids by creating polar many-body excitations

Gerard McCaul1,*,†, Matthias Runge2,*,‡, Michael Woerner2, Diyar Talbayev3, Thomas Elsaesser2, and Denys I. Bondar3

  • *These authors contributed equally to this work.
  • †Contact author: g.mccaul@lboro.ac.uk
  • ‡Contact author: runge@mbi-berlin.de
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Phys. Rev. A 112, L011101 – Published 21 July, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/qbqx-zcsx

Abstract

A surprising result from the theory of quantum control is the degree to which the properties of a physical system can be manipulated. Both atomic and many-body solid-state models admit the possibility of creating a “driven imposter” in which the optical response of one material mimics that of a dynamically distinct system. Here we apply these techniques to polarons in polar liquids. Such quasiparticles describe solvated electrons interacting with many-body degrees of freedom of their environment. The polaron frequency, which depends on the electron concentration in the liquid, is controlled with a pump field. Using this field as a control, we demonstrate the aforementioned dynamical mimicry experimentally, rendering the polaron frequency of three different liquids identical.

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Outline

Information

Phys. Rev. A 112, L011101– Published 21 July, 2025
  • Received 10 September 2024
  • Accepted 30 June 2025
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