Contributor info: Dr Lukas Broers

Lukas Broers, Ludwig Mathey

SciPost Phys. 18, 199 (2025) · published 20 June 2025 | Toggle abstract · pdf

We present the non-linear DC photoconductivity of graphene under strong infra-red (IR) radiation. The photoconductivity is obtained as the response to a strong DC electric field, with field strengths outside of the linear-response regime, while the IR radiation is described by a strong AC electric field. The conductivity displays two distinct regimes in which either the DC or the AC field dominates. We explore these regimes and associate them with the dynamics of driven Landau-Zener quenches in the case of a large DC field. In the limit of a large AC field, we describe the conductivity in a Floquet picture and compare the results to the closely related Tien-Gordon effect. We present analytical calculations for the non-linear differential photoconductivity, for both regimes based on the corresponding mechanisms. As part of this discussion of the non-equilibrium state of graphene, we present analytical estimates of the conductivity of undriven graphene as a function of temperature and DC bias field strength that show very good agreement with our simulations.

Lukas Broers, Ludwig Mathey

SciPost Phys. 14, 018 (2023) · published 13 February 2023 | Toggle abstract · pdf

We demonstrate the emergence of a non-equilibrium superradiant phase in the dissipative Rabi-Dicke model. This phase is characterized by a photonic steady state that oscillates with a frequency close to the cavity frequency, in contrast to the constant photonic steady state of the equilibrium superradiant phase in the Dicke model. We relate this superradiant phase to the population inversion of Floquet states by introducing a Schwinger representation of the driven two-level systems in the cavity. This inversion is depleted near Floquet energies that are resonant with the cavity frequency to sustain a coherent light-field. In particular, our model applies to solids within a two-band approximation, in which the electrons act as Schwinger fermions. We propose to use this Floquet-assisted superradiant phase to obtain controllable optical gain for a laser-like operation.