Exploring Superconductivity under Strong Coupling with the Vacuum Electromagnetic Field

Understand

Light-matter interactions have generated considerable interest as a means to manipulate material properties.

• Light-induced superconductivity has been demonstrated using pulsed lasers.
• An attractive alternative possibility is to exploit strong light-matter interactions arising by coupling phonons to the vacuum electromagnetic field of a cavity mode as has been suggested and theoretically studied.
• Here we explore this possibility for two very different superconductors, namely YBCO (YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{6+x}$) and Rb$_3$C$_{60}$, coupled to surface plasmon polaritons, using a novel cooperative effect based on the presence of a strongly coupled vibrational environment allowing efficient dressing of the otherwise weakly coupled phonon bands of these compounds.