Professor
B.A. (Carleton College, 1992)
Ph.D. (University of Texas at Austin, 1998)
Postdoctoral Research Associate (University of Texas at Austin, 1999-2001)
Kambhampati has been awarded the John Polanyi Award by the Chemical Institute of Canada (2022) and the Lady Davis Fellowship at Hebrew University (2020). In 2023 he was elected to the International Advisory Board of the Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters.
Awards and Recognitions:
- International Advisory Board, Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters (2023)
- John Polanyi Award, Chemical Institute of Canada (2022)
- Lady Davis Fellowship as Visiting Professor at Hebrew University (2020)
- Wares Research Prize, McGill University (2019)
- Fessenden Prize in Science Innovation, McGill University (2012)
- Fessenden Professorship, McGill University (2012)
Contact Information
Office: Otto Maass 423
Phone: (514)398-7228
Email: Pat.Kambhampati [at] McGill.CA
Lab: Otto Maass 25
Lab Phone: (514)398-3455
Web Page: Kambhampati Group Website
Research Themes
- Quantum materials
- Ultrafast laser spectroscopy
- Basic Energy Science
- AI enabled symbolic theory on the above
Research Description
The Kambhampati group studies quantum materials: systems in which electrons, excitons, photons, and lattice motions interact collectively to produce phenomena that cannot be understood from independent particles alone. Examples include polaron formation, quantum coherence, many-body correlations, superradiance, superabsorption, and protected quantum states.
We focus on semiconductor quantum dots, especially perovskite quantum dots, because they combine nanoscale quantum confinement with a soft, polar, dynamically fluctuating lattice. In these materials, the lattice is not a passive background. It actively reshapes electronic states, dresses excitons into polarons, modifies biexcitons, and can help generate emergent quantum-optical behavior.
Our central question is how quantum states are born, evolve, decohere, and become protected in real materials. We probe this by studying the coupled dynamics of excitons, biexcitons, polarons, phonons, and coherences in real time.
To do this, we use some of the most sophisticated electronic spectroscopies in the world: femtosecond transient absorption, time-resolved photoluminescence, and coherent multidimensional spectroscopy. Each gives a different projection of quantum dynamics. TA tracks population relaxation, bleach, stimulated emission, and excited-state absorption. TRPL reveals radiative recombination and emissive many-body states. CMDS, the optical analogue of multidimensional NMR, directly resolves coherences, homogeneous linewidths, spectral diffusion, and many-body couplings. Together, these instruments provide an unusually complete view of quantum dynamics in nanoscale materials.
Our experiments are paired with theory. We develop models based on system–bath Hamiltonians, spin–boson physics, polaron transformations, density matrices, stochastic lattice dynamics, and optical response theory. Increasingly, we use AI-assisted symbolic mathematics to build transparent analytical models. Rather than relying primarily on brute-force numerical supercomputing, we emphasize equations that reveal mechanism.
Our goal is to use discovery-grade spectroscopy to uncover how light creates, dresses, protects, and controls emergent quantum states in matter.
Representative recent publications 1-9.
1 Seiler, H., Palato, S., Sonnichsen, C., Baker, H., Socie, E., Strandell, D. P. & Kambhampati, P. Two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy reveals liquid-like lineshape dynamics in CsPbI3 perovskite nanocrystals. Nat. Commun. 10, 4962 (2019).
2 Brosseau, P., Ghosh, A., Seiler, H., Strandell, D. & Kambhampati, P. Exciton–polaron interactions in metal halide perovskite nanocrystals revealed via two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy. The Journal of Chemical Physics 159 (2023).
3 Strandell, D., Wu, Y., Prezhdo, O. & Kambhampati, P. Excitonic Quantum Coherence in Light Emission from CsPbBr 3 Metal-Halide Perovskite Nanocrystals. Nano Lett. 24, 61 (2023).
4 Ghosh, A., Palato, S., Brosseau, P., Tao, R., Dirin, D. N., Kovalenko, M. V. & Kambhampati, P. Coherent Multi-Dimensional Spectroscopy Reveals Homogeneous Lineshape Dynamics in CsPbBr3 Quantum Dots. ACS Nano 19, 26843-26851 (2025).
5 Ghosh, A., Mora Perez, C., Brosseau, P., Dirin, D. N., Prezhdo, O. V., Kovalenko, M. V. & Kambhampati, P. Coherent Multidimensional Spectroscopy Reveals Hot Exciton Cooling Landscapes in CsPbBr3 Quantum Dots. ACS Nano 19, 14499-14508 (2025).
6 Ghosh, A., Liu, A., Boehme, S. C., Brosseau, P., Dirin, D. N., Kovalenko, M. V. & Kambhampati, P. Correlated Lattice Fluctuations in CsPbBr3 Quantum Dots Give Rise to Long-Lived Electronic Coherence. ACS Nano 19, 19927-19937 (2025).
7 Nagpal, P., Ghosh, A., Seiler, H., Palato, S. & Kambhampati, P. Real-Time Formation of a Landau Polaron. arXiv preprint arXiv:2602.24113 (2026).
8 Ghosh, A., Brosseau, P., Dirin, D. N., Tao, R., Kovalenko, M. V. & Kambhampati, P. Landau Polarons as Generators of Quantum-Coherent States. arXiv preprint arXiv:2510.20962 (2025).
9 Ghosh, A., Brosseau, P., Dirin, D. N., Kovalenko, M. V. & Kambhampati, P. Time-Reversed Superfluorescence in a Polaronic Quantum Material. arXiv preprint arXiv:2511.02678 (2025).
Currently Teaching