We are developing methods and softwares that are capable of simulating time-dependent phenomena in condensed matter with non-Born-Oppenheimer quantum electron-nucleus dynamics, for the sake of understanding fundamental properties of materials in (laser, electron, heat-driven) electronic excited states. The processes can be non-perturbative, non-equilibrium, and non-adabatic ...
A laser pulse drive the ultrafast insulator-to-metal transition in VO2 within 10 femtosecond. What is more strange, the resultant state is electronically metallic with an unchanged lattice structure. An old body with a new soul? ...
The nonequilibrium electronic structures under a periodic field of laser can lead to intriguing topological optoelectronic properties. Under the irradiation of circularly polarized light, black phosphorus exhibits continuously tuned topological phase transition... to create a "black hole" in 2D flatland!...
Wonder how electrons move inside a crystal lattice every attosecond (0.000,000,000,000,000,001 second)?...
Our fingers are not small enough to move every single atoms into a given "designer" structure. However, a laser pulse may do the trick. It drives atoms collectively to form a new phase of atomic structure, such as the 2H to 1T of a monolayer semiconductor...
It is hidden in the dark, to whatever temperature you would heat it. It comes out only if what God would say, "Let there be light!" See a mysterious photoinduced state here ...
Ultrafast electron-nuclear dynamics of water splitting on gold nanoparticles upon exposure to femtosecond laser pulses was directly simulated, where the changes in molecular orbitals of a single water molecule was uncovered for the first time...
A new kind of membrane has been discovered, which is "transparent" for proton transport when immensed in water. It is more surprising that it does not conduct any other ions or molecules including water itself ...
The new ice structure identified by a joint theoretical and experimental effort exhibits an exceedingly high density (1.2 g/cm3, instead of 0.92 g/cm3 for ordinary ice Ih), which resembles the high-pressure phase ice-II, a stable phase of ice found at a pressure of 0.6 GPa
Green plants have an extraordinary ability to harvest sunlights. Inspired by the beauty of the nature, we construct a smallest "tree" that ever exists: tiny TiO2 nanowires are interconnected in a way like tree branches, organic molecules with a sensible light-absorbing property self-assemble onto the surface of these branches serving as "molecular leaves". Photons from the Sun which strike onto these nanostructures could squeeze electrons, in turn, electricity, out of the nanotree.
Building M703, M712, M719
Institute of Physics
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Zhongguancun, Beijing 100190
