arXiv subjects

Navdeep Rana

Publications and source records attributed to Navdeep Rana.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Carrier-Resolved Attosecond Valley Polarimetry of Monolayer MoS$_2$

In recent years, all-optical writing and switching of valley polarization in two-dimensional semiconductors has been demonstrated on femtosecond timescales. Reading this polarization out on the same timescale, carrier by carrier, has so far remained out of reach. Employing semiconductor Bloch equation simulations of monolayer MoS$_2$, we show that attosecond transient absorption closes this gap by turning the Mo $4p$ semicore edge into a quantitative valley polarimeter. We find that pump-enabled core-to-valence absorption probes the holes while core-to-conduction bleaching probes the electrons, so that a single spectrum identifies each carrier by its photoabsorption energy. The hole channel, Pauli-blocked in equilibrium, emerges background-free. Its circular dichroism reverses sign with the pump helicity, and its normalized magnitude is proportional to the valley polarization. Finally, we show that scanning the probe delay clocks the few-femtosecond write in real time. Thus, attosecond core-level dichroism is a carrier-sensitive, quantitative probe of the creation and evolution of valley polarization.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

Probing Lattice Dynamics in Real-Space and Real-Time

The coherent lattice vibrations significantly impact physical and chemical processes in solids, such as heat transfer, displacive phase transitions, and thermal conductivity. Thus, probing lattice dynamics in real-space and real-time is essential for understanding ubiquitous phenomena in solids. High-harmonic spectroscopy (HHS) has emerged as a preferred technique for investigating static and dynamic properties of solids on ultrafast timescales. Yet, despite these accomplishments, the applicability of HHS to probe the influence of coherent lattice vibrations on electronic responses has remained unexplored. In this thesis, we explore the impact of coherent lattice dynamics on attosecond electronic responses in solids using HHS. We observe that coherent excitation of the in-plane phonon mode in graphene results in sidebands in the harmonic spectrum, separated by the frequency of the excited phonon mode. Additionally, we demonstrate the capability of HHS to characterize energy, polarization, phase difference, and the "chirality" of phonon modes. This thesis offers an avenue to probe phonon-driven processes in solids with sub-cycle temporal resolution. In the later segment, our focus shifts toward probing coherent lattice dynamics in real-space and real-time. We demonstrate that inelastic scattering techniques, combined with theoretical analysis, yield comparable results to those from time-resolved diffraction and imaging measurements within pump-probe configurations. Our findings exhibit excellent agreement with results from a time-resolved diffuse x-ray scattering experiment. Our proposed method serves as an alternative to time-resolved diffraction and imaging methods for probing lattice dynamics in real-space and real-time with atomic-scale spatiotemporal resolution.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2026

Probing lattice fluctuations using solid-state high-harmonic spectroscopy

Solid-state high-harmonic spectroscopy allows the study of strongly driven ultrafast electron dynamics. Microscopically, high harmonics are generated by strong-laser-field acceleration of electron-hole pairs through the lattice. At finite temperatures, atomic-scale structural fluctuations are ubiquitous and are expected to influence the electron-hole trajectories. Yet, the effect of thermal lattice fluctuations on solid-state high-harmonic generation (HHG) has not been quantified. Here, we demonstrate a profound sensitivity of HHG to thermal lattice fluctuations, by characterizing the temperature dependence of HHG in Re6Se8Cl2, a superatomic semiconductor. As the sample temperature is decreased, the high-harmonic yield exhibits a slow increase, followed by an abrupt increase below 50 K, consistent with the temperature at which lattice vibrations are strongly suppressed. Our calculations show that thermal lattice fluctuations both weaken the harmonic response from individual distorted configurations and induce phase dispersion across the ensemble, leading to a pronounced suppression of the coherently emitted harmonics. We show that this effect can be interpreted in terms of an effective electronic dephasing time that varies with temperature. Our results are relevant to dephasing in broad strong-field phenomena, including lightwave electronics and Floquet engineering. The wide tunability of superatomic crystals further enables materials-controlled strong-field physics.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Efficient Pseudo-spectral Algorithms for Statistical Field Theories

We present stochastic variants of the exponential time differencing schemes for stiff stochastic differential equations. We derive three explicit schemes that offer better stability compared to Euler-Maruyama and Milstein's method, and achieve strong convergence up to order O(h) in the time step h. We combine these schemes with a pseudo-spectral approach to outline efficient algorithms for simulating stochastic field theories with additive noise. To illustrate the effectiveness of this approach, we study several systems in and out of equilibrium, including Model A, Model B, the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang equation, and the Complex Ginzburg-Landau equation. We outline procedures for computing physical observables such as the critical exponents, correlation functions, and dynamic linear response, and provide our implementation as open source code.

physics.comp-ph↗

arXiv2025

Disorder to Order Transition in 1D non-reciprocal Cahn-Hilliard Model

We present the phenomenology of the one dimensional non-reciprocal Cahn Hilliard model for varying non-reciprocity $(\alpha)$ and different boundary conditions. At small $\alpha$, a perturbed uniform state evolves to a defect laden configuration that lacks global polar order. Defects are the sources and sinks of travelling waves. For a given $\alpha$, defects with a unique wave number that increases monotonically with $\alpha$ are selected. A critical threshold $\alpha_c$ marks the onset of a transition to states with finite global polar order. For periodic boundary conditions, above $\alpha_c$, the system shows travelling waves that are completely ordered. In contrast, travelling waves are incompatible with the Neumann and Dirichlet boundary conditions. Instead, for $\alpha \gtrsim \alpha_c$, we find fluctuating domains that show intermittent polar order and at large $\alpha$, the system partitions into two domains with opposite polar order.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2025

Nonlinear Optical Spectroscopy of Nodal-Line Semimetals

Intense laser-driven nonlinear optical phenomena in two-dimensional (2D) nodal-line semimetals (NLS) exhibit complex mechanisms, particularly in the NbSi$_{x}$Te$_{2}$ material systems characterized by nonsymmorphic symmetry-protected band degeneracy. Our findings reveal how nonsymmorphic symmetry-protected band degeneracy fundamentally influences the material's nonlienar optical responses. Notably, the nonsymmorphic glide-mirror symmetry leads to the exclusive generation of odd-order harmonics from inversion-symmetry-broken NLS. Moreover, harmonics are emitted parallel and perpendicular to the driving laser's polarization. We demonstrate distinct generation mechanisms arise from intrachain and interchain processes, with their relative contributions varying significantly with the polarization of the driving laser pulse. The polarization-dependence exhibits two-fold anisotropy, with each harmonic order showing characteristic angular distributions of maximum yield. Additionally, our analysis of the ellipticity-dependence reveals an intricate interplay between interband and intraband mechanisms. These insights open new possibilities for controlling harmonic generation through precise tuning parameters of the driving laser and highlight the potentials of NLS materials to fabricate lightwave-based photonics, optoelectronic and quantum devices operating on ultrafast timescales.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

Instabilities and turbulence in extensile swimmer suspensions

We study low Reynolds number turbulence in a suspension of polar, extensile, self-propelled inertial swimmers. We review the bend and splay mechanisms that destabilize an ordered flock. The suspension is always unstable to bend perturbations. Using a minimal 1D model, we show that the splay-stable to splay-unstable transition occurs via a supercritical Hopf bifurcation. We perform high-resolution numerical simulations in 2D to study the varieties of turbulence present in this system transitioning from defect turbulence to concentration-wave turbulence depending on a single non-dimensional number, denoting the ratio of the splay-concentration wavespeed to the swimmer motility.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2025

Polarization-Resolved Core Exciton Dynamics in LiF Using Attosecond Transient Absorption Spectroscopy

The ability to control absorption by modifying the polarization of light presents an exciting opportunity to experimentally determine the orbital alignment of absorption features. Here, attosecond extreme ultraviolet (XUV) transient absorption spectroscopy is used to investigate the polarization dependence of core exciton dynamics in LiF thin films at the Li+ K edge. XUV pulses excite electrons from the Li 1s core level into the conduction band, allowing for the formation of a p-orbital-like core exciton, aligned along the XUV light polarization axis. A sub-5 fs near-infrared (NIR) probe pulse then arrives at variable time delays, perturbing the XUV-excited states and allowing the coherence decay of the core exciton to be mapped. The coherence lifetimes are found to be ~2.4 +- 0.4 fs, which is attributed to a phonon-mediated dephasing mechanism as in previous core exciton studies. The differential absorption features are also shown to be sensitive to the relative polarization of the XUV and NIR fields. The parallel NIR probe induces couplings between the initial XUV-excited p-like bright exciton and s-like dark excitons. When crossed pump and probe polarizations are used, the coupling between the bright and dark states is no longer dipole-allowed, and the transient absorption signal associated with the coupling is suppressed by approximately 90%. This interpretation is supported by simulations of a few-level model system, as well as analysis of the calculated band structure. The results indicate that laser polarization can serve as a powerful experimental tool for exploring the orbital alignment of core excitonic states in solid-state materials.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2025

Non-reciprocal mixtures in suspension: the role of hydrodynamic interactions

The collective chasing dynamics of non-reciprocally coupled densities leads to stable travelling waves which can be mapped to a model for emergent flocking. In this work, we couple the non-reciprocal Cahn-Hilliard model (NRCH) to a fluid to minimally describe scalar active mixtures in a suspension, with the aim to explore the stability of the waves, i.e. the emergent flock in the presence of self-generated fluid flows. We show that the emergent polarity is linearly unstable to perturbations for a specific sign of the active stress recalling instabilities of orientational order in a fluid. Using numerical simulations, we find however that non-reciprocity stabilizes the waves against the linear instability in a large region of the phase space.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2024

Optical Control of Ultrafast Photocurrent in Graphene

The ability to manipulate electrons with the intense laser pulse enables an unprecedented control over the electronic motion on its intrinsic timescale. Present work explores the desired control of photocurrent generation in monolayer graphene on ultrafast timescale. The origin of photocurrent is attributed to the asymmetric residual electronic population in the conduction band after the end of the laser pulse, which also facilitates valley polarization. Present study offers a comprehensive analysis of the differences between these two observables, namely photocurrent and valley polarization. It is found that the corotating circularly polarized $\omega-2\omega$ laser pulses allow the generation of photocurrent but no valley polarization, whereas counterrotating circularly polarized $\omega-2\omega$ laser pulses yield significant valley polarization without any photocurrent in graphene. Different laser parameters, such as subcycle phase, wavelength, and intensity provide different knobs to control the generation of the photocurrent. In addition, threefold increase in the photocurrent's amplitude can be achieved by altering electronic properties of graphene via strain engineering. Our findings reveal intriguing underlying mechanisms into the interplay between the symmetries of the graphene's electronic structure and the driving laser pulses, shedding light on the potential for harnessing graphene's properties for novel applications in ultrafast photonics, optoelectronic devices, and quantum technologies.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Enhanced stability and chaotic condensates in multi-species non-reciprocal mixtures

Random non-reciprocal interactions between a large number of conserved densities are shown to enhance the stability of the system towards pattern formation. The enhanced stability is an exact result when the number of species approaches infinity and is confirmed numerically by simulations of the multi-species non-reciprocal Cahn-Hilliard model. Furthermore, the diversity in dynamical patterns increases with increasing number of components and novel steady states such as pulsating or spatiotemporally chaotic condensates are observed. Our results may help to unravel the mechanisms by which living systems self-organise via metabolism.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2024

Defect interactions in the non-reciprocal Cahn-Hilliard model

We present a computational study of the pairwise interactions between defects in the recently introduced non-reciprocal Cahn-Hilliard model. The evolution of a defect pair exhibits dependence upon their corresponding topological charges, initial separation, and the non-reciprocity coupling constant $\alpha$. We find that the stability of isolated topologically neutral targets significantly affects the pairwise defect interactions. At large separations, defect interactions are negligible and a defect pair is stable. When positioned in relatively close proximity, a pair of oppositely charged spirals or targets merge to form a single target. At low $\alpha$, like-charged spirals form rotating bound pairs, which are however torn apart by spontaneously formed targets at high $\alpha$. Similar preference for charged or neutral solutions is also seen for a spiral target pair where the spiral dominates at low $\alpha$, but concedes to the target at large $\alpha$. Our work sheds light on the complex phenomenology of non-reciprocal active matter systems when their collective dynamics involves topological defects.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2024

High-Harmonic Generation from Engineered Graphene for Polarization Tailoring

Strain engineering is a versatile method to boost the carrier mobility of two-dimensional materials-based electronics and optoelectronic devices. In addition, strain is ubiquitous during device fabrication via material deposition on a substrate with a different lattice structure. Here, we show that the polarization properties of the harmonics in graphene under uniaxial strain are strongly yet differently affected in the lower and higher orders. The polarization plane of the lower-order emitted harmonics is rotated -- a manifestation of Faraday rotation due to the broken symmetry planes. In contrast, we observe elliptically-polarized higher-order harmonics due to the intricate interplay of the interband and intraband electron dynamics. The implications of these findings are twofold: First, we show how the rotation of the polarization plane of the lower-order harmonics can be used as a probe to characterize the strain's nature, strength, and angle. Second, we demonstrate how strain engineering can be used to alter the polarization properties of higher-order harmonics, relevant for applications in ultrafast chiral-sensitive studies. Our research opens a promising avenue for strain-tailored polarization properties of higher-order harmonics in engineered solids.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Inertia drives concentration-wave turbulence in swimmer suspensions

We discover an instability mechanism in suspensions of self-propelled particles that does not involve active stress. Instead, it is driven by a subtle interplay of inertia, swimmer motility, and concentration fluctuations, through a crucial time lag between the velocity and the concentration field. The resulting time-persistent state seen in our high-resolution numerical simulations consists of self-sustained waves of concentration and orientation, transiting from regular oscillations to wave turbulence. We analyze the statistical features of this active turbulence, including an intriguing connection to the Batchelor spectrum of passive scalars.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2023

Defect Solutions of the Non-reciprocal Cahn-Hilliard Model: Spirals and Targets

We study the defect solutions of the Non-reciprocal Cahn-Hilliard model (NRCH). We find two kinds of defects, spirals with unit magnitude topological charge, and topologically neutral targets. These defects generate radially outward travelling waves and thus break the parity and time-reversal symmetry. For a given strength of non-reciprocity, spirals and targets with unique asymptotic wavenumber and amplitude are selected. We use large-scale simulations to show that at low non-reciprocity $\alpha$, a quenched disordered state evolves into quasi-stationary spiral networks. With increasing $\alpha$, we observe networks composed primarily of targets. Beyond a critical threshold $\alpha_c$, a disorder-order transition from defect networks to travelling waves emerges. The transition is marked by a sharp rise in the global polar order.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2023

All-Optical Ultrafast Valley Switching in Two-Dimensional Materials

Electrons in two-dimensional materials possess an additional quantum attribute, the valley pseudospin, labelled as $\mathbf{K}$ and $\mathbf{K}^{\prime}$ -- analogous to the spin up and spin down. The majority of research to achieve valley-selective excitations in valleytronics depends on resonant circularly-polarised light with a given helicity. Not only acquiring valley-selective electron excitation but also switching the excitation from one valley to another is quintessential for bringing valleytronics-based technologies in reality. Present work introduces a coherent control protocol to initiate valley-selective excitation, de-excitation, and switch the excitation from one valley to another on the fly within tens of femtoseconds -- a timescale faster than any valley decoherence time. Our protocol is equally applicable to {\it both} gapped and gapless two-dimensional materials. Monolayer graphene and molybdenum disulfide are used to test the universality. Moreover, the protocol is robust as it is insensitive to significant parameters of the protocol, such as dephasing times, wavelengths, and time delays of the laser pulses. Present work goes beyond the existing paradigm of valleytronics, and opens a new realm of valley switch at PetaHertz rate.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2023

Generation of Circularly-Polarised High-Harmonics with Identical Helicity in Two-Dimensional Materials

Generation of circularly-polarized high-harmonics with the same helicity to all orders is indispensable for chiral-sensitive spectroscopy with attosecond temporal resolution. Solid-state samples have added a valuable asset in controlling the polarization of emitted harmonics. However, maintaining the identical helicity of the emitted harmonics to all orders is a daunting task. In this work, we demonstrate a robust recipe for efficient generation of circularly-polarized harmonics with the same helicity. For this purpose, a nontrivial tailored driving field, consisting of two co-rotating laser pulses with frequencies $\omega$ and $2\omega$, is utilized to generate harmonics from graphene. The Lissajous figure of the total driving pulse exhibits an absence of the rotational symmetry, which imposes no constraint on the helicity of the emitted harmonics. Our approach to generating circularly-polarized harmonics with the same helicity is robust against various perturbations in the setup, such as variation in the subcycle phase difference or the intensity ratio of the $\omega$ and $2\omega$ pulses, as rotational symmetry of the total driving pulse remains absent. Our approach is expected to be equally applicable to other two-dimensional materials, among others, transition-metal dichalcogenides and hexagonal boron nitride as our approach is based on absence of the rotational symmetry of the driving pulse. Our work paves the way for establishing compact solid-state chiral-XUV sources, opening a new realm for chiral light-matter interaction on its intrinsic timescale.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2023

Defect turbulence in a dense suspension of polar, active swimmers

We study the effects of inertia in dense suspensions of polar swimmers. The hydrodynamic velocity field and the polar order parameter field describe the dynamics of the suspension. We show that a dimensionless parameter $R$ (ratio of the swimmer self-advection speed to the active stress invasion speed) controls the stability of an ordered swimmer suspension. For $R$ smaller than a threshold $R_1$, perturbations grow at a rate proportional to their wave number $q$. Beyond $R_1$, we show that the growth rate is $\mathcal{O}(q^2)$ until a second threshold $R=R_2$ is reached. The suspension is stable for $R>R_2$. We perform direct numerical simulations to investigate the steady state properties and observe defect turbulence for $R<R_2$. An investigation of the spatial organisation of defects unravels a hidden transition: for small $R\approx 0$ defects are uniformly distributed and cluster as $R\to R_1$. Beyond $R_1$, clustering saturates and defects are arranged in nearly string-like structures.

cond-mat.soft↗