Decondensation in Nonequilibrium Photonic Condensates: When Less Is More

Hesten, Henry J.; Nyman, Robert A.; Mintert, Florian

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.120.040601

Cited by 42 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…(2). The spectra also show a tendency towards thermalization, witnessed by robust condensation in the cavity ground-state and indicating a regime where photon reabsorption plays a significant role [14,16]. Consequently, and despite the absence of a full thermal distribution, parallels may be drawn with Bose-Einstein condensation of photons [17][18][19][20].…”

Section: Zero-time Statisticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Non-stationary statistics and formation jitter in transient photon condensation

et al. 2020

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While equilibrium phase transitions are well described by a free-energy landscape, there are few tools to describe general features of their non-equilibrium counterparts. On the other hand, near-equilibrium free-energies are easily accessible but their full geometry is only explored in nonequilibrium conditions, e.g. after a quench. In the particular case of a non-stationary system, however, the concepts of an order parameter and free energy become ill-defined, and a comprehensive understanding of non-stationary (transient) phase transitions is still lacking. Here, we probe transient non-equilibrium dynamics of an optically pumped, dye-filled microcavity which exhibits near-equilibrium Bose-Einstein condensation under steady-state conditions. By rapidly exciting a large number of dye molecules, we quench the system to a far-from-equilibrium state and, close to a critical excitation energy, find delayed condensation, interpreted as a transient equivalent of critical slowing down. We introduce the two-time, non-stationary, second-order correlation function, g (2) (t1, t2), as a powerful experimental tool for probing the statistical properties of the transient relaxation dynamics. In addition to number fluctuations near the critical excitation energy, we show that transient phase transitions exhibit a different form of diverging fluctuations, namely timing jitter in the growth of the order parameter. This jitter is seeded by the randomness associated with spontaneous emission, with its effect being amplified near the critical point. The experimental results are accurately described by a microscopic model of light-matter interactions. The general character of our observations is then discussed based on the geometry of effective free-energy landscapes. We thus identify universal features, such as the formation timing jitter, for a larger set of systems undergoing transient phase transitions. Our results carry immediate implications to diverse systems, including micro-and nano-lasers and growth of colloidal nanoparticles.

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Section: Zero-time Statisticsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Non-stationary statistics and formation jitter in transient photon condensation

et al. 2020

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“…Hesten et al used the Kirton and Keeling model to explore a large parameter space, describing a nonequilibrium phase diagram for dye-microcavity photons [44]. The phase diagram proved to be particularly rich, with many possible multimode condensate phases in the crossover between well-thermalized BEC and unthermalized laser states.…”

Section: A Nonequilibrium Model Of Photon Condensationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bose-Einstein condensation of photons from the thermodynamic limit to small photon numbers

Nyman

Walker

2017

Journal of Modern Optics

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Photons can come to thermal equilibrium at room temperature by scattering multiple times from a fluorescent dye. By confining the light and dye in a microcavity, a minimum energy is set and the photons can then show Bose-Einstein condensation. We present here the physical principles underlying photon thermalization and condensation, and review the literature on the subject. We then explore the 'small' regime where very few photons are needed for condensation. We compare thermal equilibrium results to a rate-equation model of microlasers, which includes spontaneous emission into the cavity, and we note that small systems result in ambiguity in the definition of threshold. FOREWORDThis article is written in memory of Danny Segal, who was a colleague of one of us (Rob Nyman) in the Quantum Optics and Laser Science group at Imperial College for many years. The topic of this article touches on the subject of dye lasers, the stuff of nightmares for any AMO physicist of his generation, but a stronger connection to Danny is that he was very supportive of my application for the fellowship that pushed my career forward, and funded this research. One of Danny's quirks was a strong dislike of flying. As a consequence, I had the pleasure of joining him on a 24 hour, four-train journey from London to Italy to a conference. That's a lot of time for story telling and forging memories for life. Danny was one of the good guys, and I sorely miss his good humour and advice.This article presents a gentle introduction to thermalization and Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) of photons in dye-filled microcavities, followed by a review of the state of the art. We then note the similarity to microlasers, particularly when there are very few photons involved. We compare a simple non-equilibrium model for microlasers with an even simpler thermal equilibrium model for BEC and show that the models coincide for similar values of a 'smallness' parameter.

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“…Also the temporal [8][9][10] and spatial [11] features of photon BECs driven out of equilibrium have been studied, as well as the demarcation of photon BECs from lasers [12][13][14][15][16], the grand-canonical statistics in photon BECs [17], the breakdown of equilibrium-like behavior [18] and the thermo-optic interaction effects [19]. Very recently, it was found both theoretically [20] and experimentally [7] that excited cavity modes start to emit coherently together with the ground mode, when the pump power and the photon loss are increased relative to the thermalizing coupling to the dye. A complex network of small patches in parameter space corresponding to various phases characterized by different combinations of modes with macroscopic occupation is predicted [20].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Very recently, it was found both theoretically [20] and experimentally [7] that excited cavity modes start to emit coherently together with the ground mode, when the pump power and the photon loss are increased relative to the thermalizing coupling to the dye. A complex network of small patches in parameter space corresponding to various phases characterized by different combinations of modes with macroscopic occupation is predicted [20].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When pumping the upper minimum of an asymmetric double well, the second transition threshold can be shifted by orders of magnitude by tuning the system close to or further away from interwell resonances. We describe the system in terms of semiclassical rate equations [11,20,22] for the photon mode populations n i , and the fraction of excited dye molecules at position r, f ( r),…”

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Controlled two-mode emission from the interplay of driving and thermalization in a dye-filled photonic cavity

Vlaho

Leymann

Vorberg

et al. 2019

Phys. Rev. Research

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Two dimensional photon gases trapped in dye-filled microcavities can undergo thermalization and nearly ideal equilibrium Bose-Einstein condensation. However, they are inherently drivendissipative systems that can exhibit an intricate interplay between the thermalizing influence of the environment given by the dye solution and the pump and loss processes driving the system out of equilibrium. We show that this interplay gives rise to a robust mechanism for two-mode emission, when the system is driven by an off-centered pump beam. Namely, after the system starts lasing in the dominantly pumped excited mode, in a second transition a photon condensate is formed in the ground mode, when the pump power is increased further. This effect is a consequence of the redistribution of excited dye molecules via the lasing mode in combination with thermalization. We propose to exploit this effect for engineering controlled two-mode emission and demonstrate that by tailoring the transverse potential landscape for the photons, the threshold pump power can be tuned by orders of magnitude.

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Decondensation in Nonequilibrium Photonic Condensates: When Less Is More

Cited by 42 publications

References 40 publications

Non-stationary statistics and formation jitter in transient photon condensation

Non-stationary statistics and formation jitter in transient photon condensation

Bose-Einstein condensation of photons from the thermodynamic limit to small photon numbers

Controlled two-mode emission from the interplay of driving and thermalization in a dye-filled photonic cavity

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