Hamburg Photon Science Colloquium | HHG in liquid crystals, a close look to partial ordered systems

by Laura Cattaneo (Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics, Heidelberg, Germany)

Friday 4 Jul 2025, 14:00 → 15:30 Europe/Berlin

SemR I-III (CFEL, Bldg. 99)

Liquid crystals (LCs), intermediate between solids and liquids, offer tunable molecular order for studying light-matter interactions. Beyond display technology, LCs enable exploration of order-dependent electron and nuclear dynamics. We use high harmonic generation (HHG) to study, for the first time, order-sensitive dynamics in LCs. The HHG yield is strongly dependent on mesophase structure and driving field polarization. I will further discuss our early insights and challenges in this emerging field.

Coffee, tea and cake will be served at 1:45 pm.