Light-induced condensation of a quantum spin liquid

Author: Mitrano, Matteo

Affiliation: Harvard University

Type: Invited Talk

Session: Organic and low dimensional superconductivity

Date and Time: 21.07.2026, 18:10 - 18:30

Optical driving can trigger emergent symmetry breaking and offers a route to superconducting-like states far from equilibrium. In correlated quantum materials, superconductivity often emerges from strongly fluctuating regimes proximate to Mott insulating and quantum spin liquid phases. Yet it remains unclear whether light can trigger the condensation of fractionalized charges in a quantum spin liquid. Here, we use light to coherently drive the organic quantum spin-liquid candidate κ-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu2(CN)3. Starting from an insulating, fractionalized ground state, intense mid-infrared pulses induce a transient divergent imaginary conductivity, which we identify as a signature of the condensation of its bosonic charge excitations. This response is short-lived, consistent with Floquet dressing, and coexists with a weak two-fluid response of incoherent holon-doublons. Our results establish the observation of charge condensation in a quantum spin liquid and provide a key step toward understanding driven superconductivity and other nonequilibrium phases in correlated materials