Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Thermalization of radiation by contact to matter is a well-known concept, but the application of thermodynamic methods to complex quantum states of light remains a challenge. Here, we observe Bose-Einstein condensation of photons into the hybridized ground state of a coupled four-site ring potential. In our experiment, the periodically closed ring lattice superimposed by a weak harmonic trap for photons is realized inside a spatially structured dye-filled microcavity. Photons thermalize to room temperature, and above a critical photon number macroscopically occupy the symmetric linear combination of the site eigenstates with zero phase winding, which constitutes the ground state of the system. The mutual phase coherence of photons at different lattice sites is verified by optical interferometry.
Source: Physical Review Letters
Authors: Andreas Redmann, Christian Kurtscheid, Niels Wolf, Frank Vewinger, Julian Schmitt, Martin Weitz
Institution: University of Bonn
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4402049842