Bose-Einstein Condensation of Long-Lifetime Polaritons in Thermal Equilibrium.
Phys Rev Lett
; 118(1): 016602, 2017 Jan 06.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-28106443
ABSTRACT
The experimental realization of Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) with atoms and quasiparticles has triggered wide exploration of macroscopic quantum effects. Microcavity polaritons are of particular interest because quantum phenomena such as BEC and superfluidity can be observed at elevated temperatures. However, polariton lifetimes are typically too short to permit thermal equilibration. This has led to debate about whether polariton condensation is intrinsically a nonequilibrium effect. Here we report the first unambiguous observation of BEC of optically trapped polaritons in thermal equilibrium in a high-Q microcavity, evidenced by equilibrium Bose-Einstein distributions over broad ranges of polariton densities and bath temperatures. With thermal equilibrium established, we verify that polariton condensation is a phase transition with a well-defined density-temperature phase diagram. The measured phase boundary agrees well with the predictions of basic quantum gas theory.
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Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Phys Rev Lett
Ano de publicação:
2017
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Estados Unidos