Abstract: We generally consider light to be mass-less and that photons at best interact with each other very (very) weakly. However, when trapped in a cavity, photons can take on an effective mass and interact via the medium in the cavity. In my colloquium, I’ll discuss some early experiments that determined the quantum nature of photons and some of our recent investigations into how photon-photon interactions can be as a sensitive probe of correlations within a material system
Bio: Eric R. Bittner obtained his Ph.D. in theoretical chemistry from the University of Chicago in 1994 and subsequently was an NSF postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas at Austin and Stanford University. In 1997, he was appointed as an Assistant Professor at the University of Houston where he is currently the Hugh Roy and Lillian Cranz Cullen Distinguished Professor. He is a Guggenheim and a Fulbright Fellow and holds fellowship in the APS and RSC. His research focuses upon light–matter interactions, excited state dynamics, stochastic processes, and condensed matter physics.
