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arXiv:2310.16604 · Physical Review A

Photon-photon correlation of condensed light in a microcavity

Yijun Tang, Himadri Shekhar Dhar, Rupert F. Oulton, Robert A. Nyman, Florian Mintert

Published Apr 23, 2024• 4 citations
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Abstract

The study of temporal coherence in a Bose-Einstein condensate of photons can be challenging, especially in the presence of correlations between the photonic modes. In this work, we use a microscopic, multimode model of photonic condensation inside a dye-filled microcavity and the quantum regression theorem to derive an analytical expression for the equation of motion of the photon-photon correlation function. This allows us to derive the coherence time of the photonic modes and identify a nonmonotonic dependence of the temporal coherence of the condensed light with the cutoff frequency of the microcavity. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

DOI
10.1103/physreva.109.043713

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The study of temporal coherence in a Bose-Einstein condensate of photons can be challenging, especially in the presence of correlations between the photonic modes. In this work, we use a microscopic, multimode model of photonic condensation inside a dye-filled microcavity and the quantum regression theorem to derive an analytical expression for the equation of motion of the photon-photon correlation function. This allows us to derive the coherence time of the photonic modes and identify a nonmonotonic dependence of the temporal coherence of the condensed light with the cutoff frequency of the microcavity. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
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We report on the observation of quantum coherence of Bose–Einstein condensed photons in an optically pumped, dye-filled microcavity. We find that coherence is long-range in space and time above condensation threshold, but short-range below threshold, compatible with thermal-equilibrium theory. Far above threshold, the condensate is no longer at thermal equilibrium and is fragmented over non-degenerate, spatially overlapping modes. A microscopic theory including cavity loss, molecular structure and relaxation shows that this multimode condensation is similar to multimode lasing induced by imperfect gain clamping.
The quantum regression theorem states that the correlations of a system at two different times are governed by the same equations of motion as the single-time averages. This provides a powerful framework for the investigation of the intrinsic microscopic behaviour of physical systems by studying their macroscopic response to a controlled external perturbation. Here we experimentally demonstrate that the two-time particle number correlations in a photon Bose-Einstein condensate inside a dye-filled microcavity exhibit the same dynamics as the response of the condensate to a sudden perturbation of the dye molecule bath. This confirms the regression theorem for a quantum gas, and, moreover, demonstrates it in an unconventional form where the perturbation acts on the bath and only the condensate response is monitored. For strong perturbations, we observe nonlinear relaxation dynamics which our microscopic theory relates to the equilibrium fluctuations, thereby extending the regression theorem beyond the regime of linear response.
The temporal coherence of an ideal Bose gas increases as the system approaches the Bose-Einstein condensation threshold from below, with coherence time diverging at the critical point. However, counterexamples have been observed for condensates of photons formed in an externally pumped, dye-filled microcavity, wherein the coherence time decreases rapidly for increasing particle number above threshold. This Letter establishes intermode correlations as the central explanation for the experimentally observed dramatic decrease in the coherence time beyond critical pump power.
A theory of Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) of light in a dye microcavity is developed. The photon polarization degeneracy and the interaction between dye molecules and photons in all of the cavity modes are taken into account. The theory goes beyond the grand canonical approximation and allows one to determine the statistical properties of the photon gas for all numbers of dye molecules and photons at all temperatures, thus describing the microscopic, mesoscopic, and macroscopic light BEC from a general perspective. A universal relation between the degrees of second-order coherence for the photon condensate and the polarized photon condensate is obtained. The photon Bose-Einstein condensate can be used as a new source of nonclassical light.