Popis: |
Discovering novel quantum phases of matter–from emergent behavior of strongly-correlated electrons in solid-state systems to superfluidity in quantum degenerate liquids–has been a cornerstone of condensed matter physics for many decades. In the most recent decades, however, the discovery of topological phases has emphasized the importance of symmetry, in addition to the conventional paradigm of symmetry breaking, in the definition of the order parameter, Ψ, and hence the quantum phase it represents. Naturally, novel experimental tools, capable of coupling to said order parameter, directly or indirectly, are required to discover conventionally elusive quantum phases. In this thesis, I will discuss experimental techniques, using both photon and electron spectroscopy, to study exotic electronic phases in single crystals. The thesis will be divided into two unequal parts: (a) the development of a high-energy-resolution sub-Kelvin angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy apparatus to study 3D time-reversal invariant topological superconductors, and (b) the experiments exploiting the non-linear and time-resolved aspects of femtosecond lasers to study a broad class of many-body systems. |