SPICE Workshop on Non-equilibrium Quantum Materials Design, June 27th - 29th 2023
Angel Rubio
We will introduce our newly developed quantum electrodynamics density-functional formalism (QEDFT) as a first principles framework to predict, characterize and control the spontaneous appearance of ordered phases of strongly interacting light-matter hybrids. We will pursue the question whether it is possible to create these new states of materials as groundstates of the system. To this end we will show how the emerging (vacuum) dressed states resembles Floquet states in driven systems. We will discuss the potential to realize non-equilibrium states of matter that have so far been only accessible in ultrafast and ultrastrong laser-driven materials. We illustrate the realization of those ideas in molecular complexes and 2D materials and show that the combination of cavity-QED and 2D twisted van der Waals heterostructures provides a novel and unique platform for the seamless realization of a plethora of interacting quantum phenomena, including exotic and elusive correlated and topological phases of matter.