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Hedayat Subgroup

The subgroup focuses on exploring the exotic electronic and spin properties of magneto-optical materials. We are particularly interested in understanding, controlling and manipulating electrons and their spins in quantum materials with strong spin-orbit coupling on the ultra-short timescales under non-equilibrium conditions. A variety of different materials, ranging from low-dimensional materials like spin-textured 2D materials, 2D transition metal dichalcogenides to exotic quantum materials like spin liquid candidates, skyrmion and chiral magnetic materials and Weyl semimetals are examined.

For our experiments, we use state-of-the-art time-resolved optical (broadband) and magneto-optical spectroscopy techniques, time-resolved Raman spectroscopy and transient grating (and spin grating) spectroscopy.


Dr. Hamoon Hedayat

Avatar Hamoon Hedayat earned his Ph.D. in Physics with honors from Politecnico di Milano in 2015. Subsequently, as a Postdoctoral Researcher at Politecnico di Milano, he continued his work with Prof. Claudia Dallera, Dr. Ettore Carpene and in collaboration with Prof. Giulio Cerullo. He was awarded the Politecnico International Fellowship (PIF) in 2016. Following this, he served as a Senior Researcher at the Italian National Research Council until 2021. In 2021, he joined the University of Cologne as a Senior Researcher and Junior Group Leader in the Optical Condensed Matter Science group, led by Prof. Paul van Loosdrecht. His research involves investigating ultrafast interactions in strongly correlated materials using femtosecond laser pulses and various ultrafast optical spectroscopy techniques.

Dr. Anuja Sahasrabudhe

Dr. Anuja Sahasrabudhe is a postdoctoral researcher working on strongly correlated materials using a combination of steady-state and ultra-fast techniques like Raman scattering and magneto-optics. She obtained her PhD in 2024 with the thesis titled "Raman scattering on Kitaev magnet (alpha)-RuCl3 under high-magnetic field". She grew up in Mumbai, India, where she completed her undergraduate studies. She then moved to Germany to pursue a Master's in physics from the University of Bonn. She started working with the research group of Prof Paul van Loosdrecht for her master's research work. She studied magnetic perovskites using time-resolved Raman scattering. Then she continued working with the group as a Ph.D. student. Her current work focuses on investigating the quantum spin liquid candidates with Raman scattering in high magnetic field.

E-Mail sahasrabudhe@ph2.uni-koeln.de

M.Sc. Omar Abdul-Aziz

Avatar Omar Abdul-Aziz obtained his Bachelor degree in General Physics (with honors) at the Lebanese University in 2019. Then, he joined the Bonn-Cologne graduate School (BCGS) program, here in Germany, to pursue his Master’s degree at the University of Bonn. During his master studies, he got interested in the field of ultrafast spectroscopy of semiconducting materials. Then, he joined the research group of Prof. Paul van Loosdrecht at the University of Cologne in 2021 for his master’s thesis work, and started working on understanding of the charge carrier dynamics and molecular arrangement of Squaraine pi-conjugated systems using ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy technique. During his bachelor and master studies, he held the scholarships “Walid Joumblatt Foundation for University Studies” (2017) and “German Academic Exchange Service DAAD” (2021). In June 2022, after completing his master’s degree, he started his research assistant position in the subgroup with the main focus on the investigating of the phonon response in the out-of-equilibrium state and carrier population dynamics of photoexcited “PdSe2”, a 2D transition metal dichalcogenides, using time-resolved Raman spectroscopy

E-Mail abdulaziz@ph2.uni-koeln.de

M.Sc. Danilo Comini

Danilo Comini earned both a Bachelor's degree in Physics and a Master's degree in Physics with a curriculum in Condensed Matter, graduating summa cum laude from the University of Trieste. During his master's studies, he acquired both theoretical and practical knowledge in the field of surface science and UHV setups. In particular, his Master's thesis, titled "Carbonylation of a surface-supported bi-metallic porphyrin monolayer: an investigation from UHV to near-ambient pressure" focused on studying mono- and bi-metallic organic monolayer heterostructures by means of SFG spectroscopy in Ultra-High Vacuum conditions with the goal of probing the catalytic properties of the said systems. As a doctoral student, he joined Paul van Loosdrecht's research group under the direct supervision of Dr. Hamoon Hedayat with the intention of furthering his knowledge in the field of magnetic phenomena (such as magnetic phase transitions, ultrafast laser induced (de)magnetization and spin dynamics) on 2D WdV anti-ferromagnets and TMDs heterostructures through the use of ultra-fast optical and magneto-optical spectroscopy techniques (time-resolved broadband MOKE and Transient Grating Spectroscopy).

E-Mail comini@ph2.uni-koeln.de

M.Sc. Julian Wagner

Avatar Julian Wagner obtained his Bachelor of Science (2017) and Master of Science (2020) degree in physics at the University of Cologne. He held the scholarships “Deutschlandstipendium der Universität zu Köln” (2015) and “Bonn Cologne Graduate School (BCGS)” (2019). His master thesis was entitled “Transient Valley Grating Spectroscopy on Monolayer WSe2” under the supervision of Prof. Paul van Loosdrecht. Then, He started his PhD in the same group at the University of Cologne. His PhD research aims to understand and control non-equilibrium dynamics in solid-state materials using various time-resolved optical and magneto-optical spectroscopy techniques. Here, especially probing the dynamics in potential quantum spin liquid materials and their dynamical behavior after photoexcitation is the focus of his research. In addition, he is interested in optically driven phase transitions, seeking to understand the universality of the underlying dynamics. In his personal life, his passion is Ballroom dancing. He dances the Waltz, Tango, Viennese Waltz, Slow Foxtrott, Quickstep and many other dances on a competitive level.

E-Mail wagner@ph2.uni-koeln.de

M.Sc. Sara Etman Zadeh

(PhD student, University of Cologne)

Recent Results and Publications
Image for Result 1

We investigate the complex dynamics of photoexcited carriers and excitons in 2D heterostructures, with a specific emphasis on interlayer interactions such as charge and spin transfer. Utilizing state-of-the-art ultrafast optical techniques, we systematically examine the proximity effects. We aim to reveal the fundamental mechanisms driving these interactions, thereby advancing our understanding of their potential applications in next-generation technologies.

  • [1] Unveiling Ultrafast Spin-Valley Dynamics and Phonon-Mediated Charge Transfer in MoSe2/WSe2 Heterostructures under publication.

  • [2] We use Transient grating spectroscopy to probe the exciton and spin diffusion in various heterostructures.

  • [3] Our recent study on Graphene/WSe2 heterostructure

    arXiv:2404.17416 (2024).
Image for Result 2

Our research aims to unravel the dynamics and underlying mechanisms governing the behavior of low-energy excitations in strongly correlated systems under extreme conditions such as high magnetic fields, resonance optical conditions, and photoexcitation with ultrashort pulses. We seek to gain deeper insights into the fundamental physics driving the interactions and observed phenomena. Ultimately, this endeavor contributes to the advancement of our understanding of correlated materials and paves the way for potential technological applications in fields such as quantum computing, spintronics, and optoelectronics.

  • [1] α-RuCl3: exploring the phenomenon of quantum spin liquid using Raman scattering. Our findings reveal a distinct intermediate field regime, providing compelling evidence for the existence of this exotic phase.

  • [2] Time resolved Raman on TiSe2.

  • [3] Temperature-dependent Raman spectrum of PdSe2: uncovering significant alterations in its behavior at specific temperatures, offering insights with potential implications for optoelectronic applications.

Image for Result 3

We investigate the photoinduced magnetic phase transition in quantum magnets, including 2D magnets such as α-RuCl3.

  • [1] Magneto-optical study of metamagnetic transitions in α-RuCl3, npj Quantum Materials 7:28 (2022).

  • [2] Nonequilibrium dynamics of α-RuCl3 - a time-resolved magneto-optical spectroscopy study, Faraday Discussions (2022).

  • [3] Ultrafast Magnetization Dynamics in a La0.7Sr0.3Mn1-xRuxO3 Multi-layer Thin-Film, Sara's thesis.

Avatar

Time-resolved Magneto-optical Spectroscopy

Here we use ultrashort pump and probe pulses to investigate the electronic and spin dynamics of magneto optical materials at different temperatures and under magnetic field. In particular, we study the photo-induced and photocontrolled phase transitions in magneto optical quantum materials.

Laboratory equipment:

  • Regenerative amplified Yb:KGW laser (Pharos):
  • power 15 W,
    wavelength 1028 nm, 800 nm,
    Repetition rate 1 - 200 kHz,
    pulse duration 50 femtoseconds.

  • Cryomagnetic:
  • Temperature: down to 2.5 K,
    Magnetic field up to 8 T.

  • Broadband Spectroscopy (OPA):
  • Probe is white light (approx. 500 - 2000 nm),
    Pump can be tuned from 400nm to 800nm.
Avatar

Time-resolved Raman spectroscopy

Using TR-Raman spectroscopy we investigate the time evolution of quasiparticles and collective excitations in quantum materials. The energy resolution is 7 cm-1 for picosecond setting and 50 cm-1 for femtosecond.

Laboratory equipment:

  • Laser source:
  • Regenerative amplified Yb:KGW laser (Pharos), 1024 nm 100 kHz, 11W, 150 ps.

  • Pump probe:
  • wavelengths 300 nm to 2500 nm.

Avatar

Transient grating and transient spin grating spectroscopy

We use transient grating (degenerate four-wave mixing process) to study the diffusive transport dynamics in quantum materials at temperatures ranging from 295K to 3K.

Laboratory equipment:

  • Laser source:
  • Ti:sapphire laser Coherent (MIRA 900-F), wavelength 747 nm (1.66 eV), 150 fs laser pulses.

For more information see: "Excitonic Transport and Intervalley Scattering Dynamics in Large-Size Exfoliated MoSe2 Monolayer Investigated by Heterodyned Transient Grating Spectroscopy,” Henning Kuhn, Julian Wagner, Shuangping Han, Robin Bernhardt, Yan Gao, Liantuan Xiao, Jingyi Zhu, Paul H. M. van Loosdrecht, Laser and Photonics Reviews, 14, 2000029 (2020)

PUBLICATION
  • Omar Abdul-Aziz, Daniel Wolverson, Charles Sayers, Ettore Carpene, Fulvio Parmigiani, Hamoon Hedayat*, Paul H. M. van Loosdrecht*, "Resonance-Induced Anomalies in Temperature-Dependent Raman Scattering of PdSe2," arXiv:2405.09166 (2024).

  • Lukas Rieland, Julian Wagner, Robin Bernhardt, Tianyi Wang, Omar Abdul-Aziz, Philipp Stein, Eva Arianna Aurelia Pogna, Stefano Dal Conte, Giulio Cerullo, Hamoon Hedayat*, Paul H. M. van Loosdrecht*, "Ultrafast Optical Control of Exciton Diffusion in WSe2/Graphene Heterostructures Revealed by Heterodyne Transient Grating Spectroscopy," arXiv:2404.17416 (2024).

  • Anuja Sahasrabudhe, Mikhail A. Prosnikov, Thomas C. Koethe, Philipp Stein, Vladimir Tsurkan, Alois Loidl, Markus Grüninger, Hamoon Hedayat*, Paul H. M. van Loosdrecht*, "Chiral excitations and the intermediate-field spin-liquid regime in the Kitaev magnet α-RuCl3," arXiv:2202.01648 (2022).

  • Julian Wagner, Anuja Sahasrabudhe, Rolf B. Versteeg, Zhe Wang, Vladimir Tsurkan, Alois Loidl, Hamoon Hedayat*, Paul H. M. van Loosdrecht*, "Nonequilibrium dynamics of α-RuCl3 - a time-resolved magneto-optical spectroscopy study,” Faraday Discussions (2022).

  • Julian Wagner, Anuja Sahasrabudhe, Rolf B. Versteeg, Lena Wysocki, Zhe Wang, Vladimir Tsurkan, Alois Loidl, Daniel I. Khomskii, Hamoon Hedayat*, Paul H. M. van Loosdrecht*, "Magneto-optical study of metamagnetic transitions in the antiferromagnetic phase of α-RuCl3,” npj Quantum Materials 7:28 (2022).

Selected Publications:

  • Omar Abdul-Aziz, Daniel Wolverson, Charles Sayers, Ettore Carpene, Fulvio Parmigiani, Hamoon Hedayat, Paul H. M. van Loosdrecht, "Resonance-Induced Anomalies in Temperature-Dependent Raman Scattering of PdSe2," arXiv:2405.09166 (2024).

  • Lukas Rieland, Julian Wagner, Robin Bernhardt, Tianyi Wang, Omar Abdul-Aziz, Philipp Stein, Eva Arianna Aurelia Pogna, Stefano Dal Conte, Giulio Cerullo, Hamoon Hedayat, Paul H. M. van Loosdrecht, "Ultrafast Optical Control of Exciton Diffusion in WSe2/Graphene Heterostructures Revealed by Heterodyne Transient Grating Spectroscopy," arXiv:2404.17416 (2024).

  • Anuja Sahasrabudhe, Mikhail A. Prosnikov, Thomas C. Koethe, Philipp Stein, Vladimir Tsurkan, Alois Loidl, Markus Grüninger, Hamoon Hedayat, Paul H. M. van Loosdrecht, "Chiral excitations and the intermediate-field spin-liquid regime in the Kitaev magnet α-RuCl3," arXiv:2202.01648 (2023).

  • Julian Wagner, Anuja Sahasrabudhe, Rolf B. Versteeg, Zhe Wang, Vladimir Tsurkan, Alois Loidl, Hamoon Hedayat, Paul H. M. van Loosdrecht, "Nonequilibrium dynamics of α-RuCl3 - a time-resolved magneto-optical spectroscopy study,” Faraday Discussions (2022).

  • Julian Wagner, Anuja Sahasrabudhe, Rolf B. Versteeg, Lena Wysocki, Zhe Wang, Vladimir Tsurkan, Alois Loidl, Daniel I. Khomskii, Hamoon Hedayat, Paul H. M. van Loosdrecht, "Magneto-optical study of metamagnetic transitions in the antiferromagnetic phase of α-RuCl3,” npj Quantum Materials 7:28 (2022).

  • Hamoon Hedayat, Charles Sayers, Andrea Ceraso, Jeroen van Wezel, Stuart Clark, Claudia Dallera, Giulio Cerullo, Elisa Da Como, Ettore Carpene, "Investigation of the non-equilibrium state of strongly correlated materials by complementary ultrafast spectroscopy techniques,” New Journal of Physics , 23 033025 (2021).

  • Hamoon Hedayat, Daniele Bugini, Hao Yi, Chihun Chen, Xiaoqin Zhou, Giulio Cerullo, Claudia Dallera, Ettore Carpene, Ultrafast Evolution of Bulk, Surface and Surface Resonance States in Photoexcited Bi2Te3,” Scientific Reports 11, 4924, arXiv (2021)

  • Nicholas Sirica, Hamoon Hedayat, Daniele Bugini, Matthias R. Koehler, Liang Li, David S. Parker, David G. Mandrus, Claudia Dallera, Ettore Carpene, Nicola Mannella, Disentangling electronic, lattice, and spin dynamics in the chiral helimagnet Cr1/3NbS2,” Physical Review B (Editors' Suggestion), 104, 174426, (2021).

  • Hamoon Hedayat, Andrea Ceraso, Giacomo Soavi, Sina Akhavan, Antoine Cadore, Claudia Dallera, Giulio Cerullo, Andrea C. Ferrari, Ettore Carpene, “Non-equilibrium band broadening, gap renormalization and band inversion in black phosphorus,” 2D Materials, 8 (2), 025020 (2020).

  • Charles J. Sayers, Hamoon Hedayat, Andrea Ceraso, Fabien Museur, Matteo Cattelan, Luke S. Hart, Laura S. Farrar, Stefano Dal Conte, Giulio Cerullo, Claudia Dallera, Elisa Da Como, Ettore Carpene, “Coherent phonons and the interplay between charge density wave and mott phases in 1T−TaSe2,” Physical Review B: Rapid Communications, 102, 161105, (2020).

  • Hamoon Hedayat, Charles J. Sayers, Daniele Bugini, Claudia Dallera, Daniel Wolverson, Thomas Batten, Shervin Karbas-si, Stefan Friedemann, Giulio Cerullo, Jeroen van Wezel, Stuart Clark, Claudia Dallera, Giulio Cerullo, Elisa Da Como, Ettore Carpene, “Excitonic and lattice contributions to the charge density wave in 1T−TiSe2 revealed by a phonon bottleneck,” Physical Review Research, 1, 023029, (2019).

  • Alberto Brambilla, Alessandro Picone, Daniele Giannotti, Alessandro Calloni, Giacomo Berti, Hamoon Hedayat, Ettore Carpene, Claudia Dallera, Matteo Zani, Giorgio Vinai, Paolo Torelli, Marco Foerster, Lorenzo Aballe, Matteo Finazzi, Luca Duò, Francesca Ciccacci, “Magnetic properties of the CoO/Fe (001) system with a bottom-up engineered interface,” Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, 475, 54-59, (2019).

  • Hamoon Hedayat, Daniele Bugini, Hao Yi, Chihun Chen, Xiaoqin Zhou, Giulio Cerullo, Claudia Dallera, Ettore Carpene, “Surface state dynamics of topological insulators investigated by femtosecond time-and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy,” Applied Sciences, 8, 694, (2018).

  • Hamoon Hedayat, P. S. Reddy, M. V. Manasa, G. S. Devi, J. R. Rao, G. N. Rao, “Nanostructure evolution of zinc stannate: A suitable material for liquefied petroleum gas detection,” Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 704, 413-419, (2017).

  • Daniele Bugini, Federico Boschini, Hamoon Hedayat, Hao Yi, Chihun Chen, Xiaoqin Zhou, Cristian Manzoni, Claudia Dallera, Giulio Cerullo, Ettore Carpene, “Ultrafast spin-polarized electron dynamics in the unoccupied topological surface state of Bi2Se3,” Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, 29, 30LT01, (2017).

  • Hamoon Hedayat, Daniele Bugini, Hao Yi, Chihun Chen, Xiaoqin Zhou, Giulio Cerullo, Claudia Dallera, Ettore Carpene, “Femtosecond dynamics of spin-polarized electrons in topological insulators,” IEEE Magnetics Letters, 9, 1-4, (2017).

  • Daniele Giannotti, Hamoon Hedayat, Giorgio Vinai, Alessandro Picone, Alessandro Calloni, Giacomo Berti, Marco Riva, Giovanni Bussetti, Federico Boschini, Paolo Torelli, Giovanni Panaccione, Ettore Carpene, Claudia Dallera, Matteo Finazzi, Alberto Brambilla, “Magnetic anisotropy at the buried CoO/Fe interface,” Applied Physics Letters, 109, 232401, (2016).

  • Ettore Carpene, Hamoon Hedayat, Federico Boschini, Claudia Piovera, Claudia Dallera, “Ultrafast demagnetization of metals: Collapsed exchange versus collective excitations,” Physical Review B, 91, 174414, (2015).

  • Federico Boschini, Hamoon Hedayat, Claudia Piovera, Claudia Dallera, Anjana Gupta, Ettore Carpene, “A flexible experimental setup for femtosecond time-resolved broad-band ellipsometry and mag-neto-optics,” Review of Scientific Instruments, 86, 013909 (2015).

  • Federico Boschini, Hamoon Hedayat, Claudia Dallera, Paolo Farinello, Cristian Manzoni, Alexandre Magrez, Hans Berger, Giulio Cerullo, Ettore Carpene, “An innovative yb-based ultrafast deep ultraviolet source for time-resolved photoemission experiments,” Review of Scientific Instruments, 85, 123903 (2014).

  • Ettore Carpene, Federico Boschini, Hamoon Hedayat, Claudia Piovera, Claudia Dallera, Elena Puppin, Marina Mansurova, Mathias Münzenberg, Xin Zhang, Anjana Gupta, “Measurement of the magneto-optical response of Fe and CrO2 epitaxial films by pump-probe spectroscopy: Evidence for spin-charge separation,” Physical Review B, 87, 174437 (2013).

Full Publications:

ORCID logo ORCID: Hamoon Hedayat