Overview of project B07
Unifying Theoretical Description of Relaxation in Electron Systems
The project aims at theoretically understanding the complex many-body dynamics in electronic systems driven by an external stimulus. The coupling strengths to the available relaxation channels govern which relaxation mechanism is the dominating one. This may change from stage to stage of the equilibration process after the stimulus. It may, furthermore, differ from system to system. The aim of this project is to develop a comprehensive picture of these relaxation phenomena by intertwining different theoretical approaches. This will be achieved by collaborative development and application of methods interfacing the sub-disciplines of the PIs.
Figure: Energy distribution of hot electrons in a Pb/Si(111) thin film at various time steps (in femtoseconds, fs) after excitation by a laser pulse