Alessio Chiocchetta
Recent developments at the interface between quantum materials and photonics are opening novel avenues to engineer hidden phases of matter.
Among these, quantum spin liquids provide paradigmatic examples of highly entangled quantum states of matter, hosting fractionalized excitations and emerging gauge fields.
In this talk, I will propose to engineer these phases by exploiting the coupling of quantum magnets to the quantized light of an optical cavity.
The interplay between the quantum fluctuations of the electromagnetic field and the strongly correlated electrons results in a tunable long-range, frustrating interaction between spins. This cavity-induced interaction robustly stabilizes spin liquid states, which occupy an extensive region in the phase diagram spanned by the range and strength of the tailored interaction. Remarkably, this occurs even in originally unfrustrated systems, as we showcase for the Heisenberg model on the square lattice.
Finally, I will outline perspectives on how this implementation can be used for engineering further exotic states of matter, and for novel measurement protocols.