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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Nature

Subcycle videography of Landau–Zener–Majorana transitions in graphene

  • V. Eggers1
  • G. Inzani1
  • M. Meierhofer1
  • L. Münster1
  • J. Helml1
  • R. Wallauer2
  • S. Zajusch2
  • S. Ito2
  • L. Machtl1
  • H. Yin3,4
  • C. Kumpf3,4,5
  • F. C. Bocquet3,4
5 more authors
  • C. Bao1
  • J. Güdde2
  • F. S. Tautz3,4,5
  • R. Huber1
  • U. Höfer1,2
5 affiliations
  1. 1Department of Physics, Regensburg Center for Ultrafast Nanoscopy (RUN) and Halle-Berlin-Regensburg Cluster of Excellence CCE, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
  2. 2Department of Physics, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany
  3. 3Peter Grünberg Institut (PGI-3), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
  4. 4Jülich Aachen Research Alliance (JARA), Fundamentals of Future Information Technology, Jülich, Germany
  5. 5Experimentalphysik IV A, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
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Abstract

Strong light fields have unlocked entirely new possibilities to tailor coherent electron trajectories, engineer band structures and shape emergent phases of matter all-optically1–9. Unravelling the underlying quantum mechanisms requires a visualization of the lightwave-driven electron motion10,11 directly in the band structure. Although photoelectron momentum microscopy has imaged photoexcited electrons averaged over many cycles of light12–19, subcycle band-structure videography has been limited to small electron momenta8,20. Yet, lightwave-driven elementary processes in quantum materials often occur throughout momentum space. Here we introduce attosecond-precision, subcycle band-structure videography covering the entire first Brillouin zone and visualize one of the most fundamental but elusive strong-field processes: non-adiabatic Landau–Zener–Majorana tunnelling. The interplay of strong-field-driven acceleration within the Dirac-like band structure of graphene and periodic Landau–Zener–Majorana interband tunnelling manifests in a coherent subcycle displacement and distortion of the carrier distribution at the Brillouin zone edge. The extremely non-thermal electron distributions also allow us to disentangle competing scattering processes and assess their impact on coherent electronic control. Our panoramic view of field-driven electron motion enables a new quality of microscopic understanding of strong-field control of quantum materials.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{eggers2026subcycle,
  title = {{Subcycle videography of Landau–Zener–Majorana transitions in graphene}},
  author = {V. Eggers and G. Inzani and M. Meierhofer and L. Münster and J. Helml and R. Wallauer and S. Zajusch and S. Ito and L. Machtl and H. Yin and C. Kumpf and F. C. Bocquet and C. Bao and J. Güdde and F. S. Tautz and R. Huber and U. Höfer},
  journal = {Nature},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1038/s41586-026-11214-y},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-11214-y},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Subcycle videography of Landau–Zener–Majorana transitions in graphene
AU  - V. Eggers
AU  - G. Inzani
AU  - M. Meierhofer
AU  - L. Münster
AU  - J. Helml
AU  - R. Wallauer
AU  - S. Zajusch
AU  - S. Ito
AU  - L. Machtl
AU  - H. Yin
AU  - C. Kumpf
AU  - F. C. Bocquet
AU  - C. Bao
AU  - J. Güdde
AU  - F. S. Tautz
AU  - R. Huber
AU  - U. Höfer
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/28
JO  - Nature
DO  - 10.1038/s41586-026-11214-y
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-11214-y
AB  - Strong light fields have unlocked entirely new possibilities to tailor coherent electron trajectories, engineer band structures and shape emergent phases of matter all-optically1–9. Unravelling the underlying quantum mechanisms requires a visualization of the lightwave-driven electron motion10,11 directly in the band structure. Although photoelectron momentum microscopy has imaged photoexcited electrons averaged over many cycles of light12–19, subcycle band-structure videography has been limited to small electron momenta8,20. Yet, lightwave-driven elementary processes in quantum materials often occur throughout momentum space. Here we introduce attosecond-precision, subcycle band-structure videography covering the entire first Brillouin zone and visualize one of the most fundamental but elusive strong-field processes: non-adiabatic Landau–Zener–Majorana tunnelling. The interplay of strong-field-driven acceleration within the Dirac-like band structure of graphene and periodic Landau–Zener–Majorana interband tunnelling manifests in a coherent subcycle displacement and distortion of the carrier distribution at the Brillouin zone edge. The extremely non-thermal electron distributions also allow us to disentangle competing scattering processes and assess their impact on coherent electronic control. Our panoramic view of field-driven electron motion enables a new quality of microscopic understanding of strong-field control of quantum materials.
SN  - 0028-0836
SN  - 1476-4687
ER  -