Seminarium Fizyki Materii Skondensowanej

I will discuss the nonequilibrium dynamics of quantum materialsinteracting with short light pulses. Recent progress in pump-probetime-resolved spectroscopy now allows experimentalists to gatherdetailed information about the excitation and relaxation mechanisms inmany-body systems. This, in turn, drives theory that is able todescribe the rich dynamics that is measured in such experiments. In mytalk I will first give a personal viewpoint on the status of the fieldand then discuss selected problems with a focus on open questionsrelated to non-thermal states and their potential for futureapplications.