Prof. Nuh Gedik

Professor Gedik's research centers on developing and using advanced optical techniques for investigating ultrafast processes in solids, nanostructures and interfacial molecular assemblies. Typical timescale for these events are femtoseconds (billionth of a millionth of a second), and typical length scales are angstroms (tenth of a billionth of a meter). In order to resolve these fast processes, ultrafast laser pulses with femtosecond durations are used. To achieve spatial sensitivity in the angstrom scale, Gedik group generates ultrashort electron packets from ultrafast laser pulses via photoelectric effect. After being accelerated to high energies, diffraction of these electron packets is used to record atomic scale "movies" with femtosecond time resolution and angstrom scale spatial resolution.

Gedik group uses these techniques to search for answers to important problems in condensed matter physics. One primary focus is to understand strongly correlated electron systems. In these materials, the interplay between spin, charge and lattice excitations leads to fascinating properties such as high temperature superconductivity and colossal magneto-resistance. Using the aforementioned experimental techniques, spatiotemporal dynamics of these excitations are studied with the goal of identifying the mechanisms behind the striking macroscopic behavior of these materials.