Photodynamic melting of phase-reversed charge stripes and enhanced condensation
Phys. Rev. B 113, 115121 – Published 10 March, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/qb8n-n2np
Abstract
The interplay between charge stripes and pairing has long been a subject of scrutiny in a broad class of unconventional superconductors, as in some cases it is unclear whether this interplay benefits the ensuing superfluidity. Experiments that explore the out-of-equilibrium dynamics of these systems aim to tip the balance toward one phase or the other by selectively coupling to relevant modes. Leveraging the fact that competition between stripes and pairing is not exclusive to fermionic systems, we explore the photoirradiation dynamics of interacting hardcore bosons in which density-wave phase-reversal melting leads to enhanced phase-coherent transport response, as quantified by the dynamic amplification of both the zero-momentum occupancy and the condensate fraction, as well as finite out-of-equilibrium charge stiffness and superfluid weight, for a given system size. Our results, obtained using unbiased methods for an interacting system on a ladder geometry, demonstrate how one can engineer time-dependent perturbations to release suppressed orders, potentially providing insight into the underlying mechanism in related experiments.
