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Abstract

Ultrashort laser pulses allow for optical control of superconductivity on picosecond timescales. Intriguing experiments at mid-IR and THz frequencies using tailored excitation pulses tuned resonantly to specific phonon modes have been shown to induce transient superconducting states even far above the equilibrium transition temperature (T-c). So far, experiments with light-induced superconductivity can be roughly divided into two classes: on the one hand the light pulses trigger the interplay of competing order parameters in favor of superconductivity, while in the second class of experiments a transient superconducting coherence is induced and dynamically stabilized.