Orazio Scarlatella

Dr Orazio Scarlatella

EPSRC/SFTC Stephen Hawking Postdoctoral Fellow

Postdoc in Prof Cooper's group

Office: 505 Mott Bld
Email: os444 @ cam.ac.uk

TCM Group, Cavendish Laboratory
19 JJ Thomson Avenue,
Cambridge, CB3 0HE UK.

Research

I am interested in quantum many-body systems under non-equilibrium conditions and open quantum systems.

My research has so far focused on

understanding phases and phase transitions in the stationary states of driven-dissipative systems
investigating the effects of quantum correlations in these systems, especially using a Dynamical Mean Field Theory approach
the dynamics of open quantum systems and quantum impurity models

Other research interests include the investigation of topological properties in non-equilibrium conditions and light-matter systems.

In Plain English

Quantum physics is fascinating because it can result in highly counterintuitive behaviour, defeating our expectations from everyday life experience. More than that, when several quantum particles interact with one another, they can behave in a “collective” way that can defeat the expectations of even the most experienced quantum physicist, such as for example in superconductors or topologically ordered states.

Unfortunately, quantum effects are very fragile and usually can be observed in systems that are highly isolated from the rest of the world, as merely trying to look at what the system is doing can spoil its quantum behaviour. It is nevertheless possible to act on a quantum system in a controlled way, such that its behaviour remains quantum, but it changes drastically from it was at equilibrium. This is for example what we need to do to build and operate technologies relying on quantum phenomena. In those non-equilibrium conditions, collective effects can also arise.

In my research I focus on understanding quantum phenomena arising in such systems of many particles far from equilibrium. This is an exciting and lively area of research, with lots of experimental progress and with room for both fundamental discoveries as well as for potential technological applications.

Featured Publications

Bibliography

[1]

L. Orsini et al., Deep Subwavelength Topological Edge State in a Hyperbolic Medium, arXiv:2310.02644.

[2]

O. Scarlatella, A. A. Clerk, and M. Schirò, On the Stability of Dissipatively-Prepared Mott Insulators of Photons, arXiv:2303.09673.

[3]

O. Scarlatella and M. Schiro, Self-Consistent Dynamical Maps for Open Quantum Systems, arXiv:2107.05553.

[4]

M. Vanhoecke, O. Scarlatella, and M. Schirò, Dynamics Near a Photonic Band-Edge: Strong Coupling Effects Beyond Rotating-Wave Approximation, arXiv:2207.13006.

[5]

O. Scarlatella, A. A. Clerk, R. Fazio, and M. Schiró, Dynamical Mean-Field Theory for Markovian Open Quantum Many-Body Systems, Phys. Rev. X 11, 031018 (2021).

[6]

M. Schiro and O. Scarlatella, Quantum Impurity Models Coupled to Markovian and Non-Markovian Baths, J. Chem. Phys. 151, 044102 (2019).

[7]

O. Scarlatella, A. A. Clerk, and M. Schiro, Spectral Functions and Negative Density of States of a Driven-Dissipative Nonlinear Quantum Resonator, New J. Phys. 21, 043040 (2019).

[8]

O. Scarlatella, R. Fazio, and M. Schiró, Emergent Finite Frequency Criticality of Driven-Dissipative Correlated Lattice Bosons, Phys. Rev. B 99, 064511 (2019).

[9]

O. Scarlatella and M. Schiró, Dissipation-Induced Superradiance in a Non-Markovian Open Dicke Model, arXiv:1611.09378 [Cond-Mat, Physics:Quant-Ph] (2016).