Paloma Arroyo Huidobro

This PhD project at Umeå University is part of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Network SPARK and focuses on the fundamental physics of spatiotemporal hybrid light–matter states . The doctoral candidate will work on creating spatiotemporal polaritons through ultrafast light–matter interactions in engineered metamaterial systems, with the aim of controlling hybrid states on femtosecond timescales. The research combines nanophotonics , metamaterials , ultrafast optics , condensed matter physics , and quantum optics . The project explores wide-bandgap semiconductors and high-quality excitonic or molecular emitters coupled to time-modulated gratings. The student will use ultrafast pump–push–probe experiments with sub-10 fs resolution alongside finite-element simulations and quantum models extending the Tavis–Cummings Hamiltonian to study and design new spatiotemporal metamaterial platforms. The position is based in the Department of Physics , which has strong research activity in condensed matter physics, nanotechnology, photonics, ultrafast spectroscopy, and theoretical and computational physics. The doctoral work is led by Associate Professor Nicolò Maccaferri , with co-supervision and mentoring from Associate Professor Paloma Arroyo Huidobro at Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and an industrial mentor at Ultrafast Innovations GmbH. The project includes a research secondment in Spain and an industrial secondment in Germany, offering a multidisciplinary and international training environment. The student will be part of a prestigious European doctoral network and contribute to coherent control of spatiotemporal polaritons and the development of new hybrid light–matter dynamics.