Light Pulses Uncover Higgs Mode that Reshapes Perovskite Crystal Symmetry

Light pulses uncover Higgs mode that reshapes perovskite crystal symmetry

Waves of light and sound interact to drive electronic and structural changes in a perovskite crystal. At the atomic scale, nothing is ever truly still. Materials that appear perfectly rigid and motionless to the naked eye are in fact swarms of vibrating atoms. This motion is generally random and uncoordinated, but with the right input, the atoms in certain materials will start to move together, vibrating in sync.

Scientists Find an Elusive Vibration — a Higgs Mode — Changing a Crystal’s Symmetry

Argonne scientists discovered a Higgs mode -- a rare, complex vibration and mathematical analog to the Higgs boson -- that changed the symmetry of a semiconductor crystal. The results could help researchers control material properties using light.