The Physics Of Exciton Polariton Condensates

After the first demonstration of Bose Einstein condensation in the solid state in 2006 and the establishment of exciton polariton condensates in the wider scientific community, an intense interest has been attracted by this phenomenon at both theoretical and experimental level. This book presents in detail the different aspects of fundamental importance related to the polariton condensation. After an overview of the basic concepts for excitons, polaritons and condensates in and out of equilibrium, the book then considers a variety of experimental methods used in their study. A detailed theoretical analysis that supports observed experimental findings is also provided.

This book offers an overview of polariton Bose–Einstein condensation and the emerging field of polaritonics, providing insights into the necessary theoretical basics, technological aspects and experimental studies in this fascinating field of science. Following a summary of theoretical considerations, it guides readers through the rich physics of polariton systems, shedding light on the concept of the polariton laser, polariton microcavities, and the technical realization of optoelectronic devices with polaritonic emissions, before discussing the role of external fields used for the manipulation and control of exciton–polaritons. A glossary provides simplified summaries of the most frequently discussed topics, allowing readers to quickly familiarize themselves with the content. The book pursues an uncomplicated and intuitive approach to the topics covered, while also providing a brief outlook on current and future work. Its straightforward content will make it accessible to a broad readership, ranging from research fellows, lecturers and students to interested science and engineering professionals in the interdisciplinary domains of nanotechnology, photonics, materials sciences and quantum physics.

In 2006 researchers created the first polariton Bose-Einstein condensate at 19K in the solid state. Being inherently open quantum systems, polariton condensates open a window into the unpredictable world of physics beyond the “fifth state of matter”: the limited lifetime of polaritons renders polariton condensates out-of-equilibrium and provides a fertile test-bed for non-equilibrium physics. This book presents an experimental investigation into exciting features arising from this non-equilibrium behavior. Through careful experimentation, the author demonstrates the ability of polaritons to synchronize and create a single energy delocalized condensate. Under certain disorder and excitation conditions the complete opposite case of coexisting spatially overlapping condensates may be observed. The author provides the first demonstration of quantized vortices in polariton condensates and the first observation of fractional vortices with full phase and amplitude characterization. Finally, this book investigates the dynamics of polariton populations trapped in neighboring potential traps – and shows that coherent population oscillations are observed – in direct analogy to the AC Josephson effect. This book puts significant weight on both the details of the experimental techniques and the theoretical tools used pick apart the experimental findings making it an invaluable aide for condensed matter researchers interested in exciton-polaritons condensates.

In the past decade, there has been a burst of new and fascinating physics associated to the unique properties of two-dimensional exciton polaritons, their recent demonstration of condensation under non-equilibrium conditions and all the related quantum phenomena, which have stimulated extensive research work. This monograph summarizes the current state of the art of research on exciton polaritons in microcavities: their interactions, fast dynamics, spin-dependent phenomena, temporal and spatial coherence, condensation under non-equilibrium conditions, related collective quantum phenomena and most advanced applications. The monograph is written by the most active authors who have strongly contributed to the advances in this area. It is of great interests to both physicists approaching this subject for the first time, as well as a wide audience of experts in other disciplines who want to be updated on this fast moving field.

Volume 32 of the series addresses one of the most rapidly developing research fields in physics: microcavities. Microcavities form a base for fabrication of opto-electronic devices of XXI century, in particular polariton lasers based on a new physical principle with respect to conventional lasers proposed by Einstein in 1917. This book overviews a theory of all major phenomena linked microcavities and exciton-polaritons and is oriented to the reader having no background in solid state theory as well as to the advanced readers interested in theory of exciton-polaritons in microcavities. All major experimental discoveries in the field are addressed as well. · The book is oriented to a general reader and is easy to read for a non-specialist. · Contains an overview of the most essential effects in physics of microcavities experimentally observed and theoretically predicted during the recent decade such as:. · Bose-Einstein condensation at room temperature. · Lasers without inversion of population. · Microcavity boom: optics of the XXI century! · Frequently asked questions on microcavities and responses without formulas. · Half-light-half-matter quasi-particles: base for the future optoelectronic devices

Rapid development of microfabrication and assembly of nanostructures has opened up many opportunities to miniaturize structures that confine light, producing unusual and extremely interesting optical properties. This book addresses the large variety of optical phenomena taking place in confined solid state structures: microcavities. Realisations include planar and pillar microcavities, whispering gallery modes, and photonic crystals. The microcavities represent a unique laboratory for quantum optics and photonics. They exhibit a number of beautiful effects including lasing, superfluidity, superradiance, entanglement etc. Written by four practitioners strongly involved in experiments and theories of microcavities, it is addressed to any interested reader having a general physical background, but in particular to undergraduate and graduate students at physics faculties.

This volume provides a broad overview of the principal theoretical techniques applied to non-equilibrium and finite temperature quantum gases. Covering Bose-Einstein condensates, degenerate Fermi gases, and the more recently realised exciton-polariton condensates, it fills a gap by linking between different methods with origins in condensed matter physics, quantum field theory, quantum optics, atomic physics, and statistical mechanics.

Bose-Einstein condensation of excitons is a unique effect in which the electronic states of a solid can self-organize to acquire quantum phase coherence. The phenomenon is closely linked to Bose-Einstein condensation in other systems such as liquid helium and laser-cooled atomic gases. This is the first book to provide a comprehensive survey of this field, covering theoretical aspects as well as recent experimental work. After setting out the relevant basic physics of excitons, the authors discuss exciton-phonon interactions as well as the behaviour of biexcitons. They cover exciton phase transitions and give particular attention to nonlinear optical effects including the optical Stark effect and chaos in excitonic systems. The thermodynamics of equilibrium, quasi-equilibrium, and nonequilibrium systems are examined in detail. The authors interweave theoretical and experimental results throughout the book, and it will be of great interest to graduate students and researchers in semiconductor and superconductor physics, quantum optics, and atomic physics.