Dissertation Committee Chair: Mohammad Hafezi
Committee:
Glenn Solomon
Jay Sau
Nathan Schine
You Zhou
Ichiro Takeuchi (Dean’s representative)
Abstract: Achieving control over light-matter interactions is crucial for developing quantum technologies. This dissertation discusses two novel demonstrations where chiral light was used to control light-matter interaction in fermionic quantum Hall systems. In the first work, we demonstrated the transfer of orbital angular momentum from vortex light to itinerant electrons in quantum Hall graphene. In the latter, we demonstrated circular-polarization-dependent strong coupling in a 2D gas in the quantum Hall regime coupled to a microcavity. Our findings demonstrate the potential of chiral light to control light-matter interactions in quantum Hall systems.
In the first part of this dissertation, we review our experimental demonstration of light-matter interaction beyond the dipole-approximation between electronic quantum Hall states and vortex light where the orbital angular momentum of light was transferred to electrons. Specifically, we identified a robust contribution to the radial photocurrent, in an annular graphene sample within the quantum Hall regime, that depends on the vorticity of light. This phenomenon can be interpreted as an optical pumping scheme, where the angular momentum of photons is transferred to electrons, generating a radial current, where the current direction is determined by the vorticity of the light. Our findings offer fundamental insights into the optical probing and manipulation of quantum coherence, with wide-ranging implications for advancing quantum coherent optoelectronics.
In the second part of this dissertation, we review our experimental demonstration of a selective strong light-matter interaction by harnessing a 2D gas in the quantum Hall regime coupled to a microcavity. Specifically, we demonstrated circular-polarization dependence of the vacuum Rabi splitting, as a function of magnetic field and hole density. We provide a quantitative understanding of the phenomenon by modeling the coupling of optical transitions between Landau levels to the microcavity. This method introduces a control tool over the spin degree of freedom in polaritonic semiconductor systems, paving the way for new experimental possibilities in light-matter hybrids.