Multi-dimensional Coherent Terahertz Spectroscopy (THz-MDCS) is a new tool for studying with unprecedented resolution and for controlling quantum materials, by using a pair of phase-locked, intense Terahertz (THz) laser pulses. Establishing this experimental technique in superconductors and topological materials requires solving a non-equilibrium many-body problem that spans across several fields of current interest, including light-induced superconductivity, parametric driving of metastable phases, and quantum entanglement of supercurrent qubits. In this talk, I will discuss some examples of how THz-MDCS can be used to control and characterize strong nonlinearity and quantum interference in ways not achieved so far in superconductors.
Ilias Perakis currently serves as the Chair of Physics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). His academic journey includes faculty roles at UAB, the University of Crete, the European Union Laser Facility FORTH/IESL, and Vanderbilt University. His leadership roles include service as Head of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and as Associate Chair and Director of the Undergraduate and Graduate Programs of the Department of Physics. He received his BS degree in Electrical Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens, Greece in 1986. He earned his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Physics from the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign, in 1988 and 1992 respectively. He specializes in theoretical condensed matter physics and computational optical science, with recent breakthroughs in light-controlled quantum phenomena.