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arXiv:2604.25519

Temporal hopping dynamics in exciton-polariton condensation

Elena Rozas, Wojciech Bukalski, Yannik Brune, Adbhut Gupta, Kirk Baldwin, Loren N. Pfeiffer, Hassan Alnatah, Jonathan Beaumariage, David W. Snoke, P. Comaron, Marzena Hanna Szymańska, Marc Aßmann

Published Apr 28, 2026• 0 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Polariton condensates provide a versatile platform for exploring non-equilibrium phase transitions and collective phenomena in open quantum systems. Near the condensation threshold, these systems are particularly sensitive to fluctuations and instabilities, which can strongly influence the condensate formation. Using optical trapping and homodyne detection, we directly access the photon statistics and second-order correlation function $g^{(2)}(0)$ of the condensate. We show that polariton condensation near the threshold is not a purely static transition, but instead undergoes a dynamical regime characterized by stochastic hopping between condensed and non-condensed states. These intermittent dynamics are accompanied by a gradual reduction of $g^{(2)}(0)$ towards unity, revealing the progressive build-up of coherence even in the presence of strong temporal fluctuations. Numerical simulations, based on a stochastic Truncated Wigner description of the driven-dissipative polariton field, reproduce these dynamics and capture the essential role of noise and reservoir interactions. This work demonstrates that the observed temporal hopping is an intrinsic feature of polariton condensation, providing a dynamical perspective that goes beyond static descriptions of the condensation phase transition.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2604.25519

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Polariton condensates provide a versatile platform for exploring non-equilibrium phase transitions and collective phenomena in open quantum systems. Near the condensation threshold, these systems are particularly sensitive to fluctuations and instabilities, which can strongly influence the condensate formation. Using optical trapping and homodyne detection, we directly access the photon statistics and second-order correlation function g(2)(0)g^{(2)}(0)g(2)(0) of the condensate. We show that polariton condensation near the threshold is not a purely static transition, but instead undergoes a dynamical regime characterized by stochastic hopping between condensed and non-condensed states. These intermittent dynamics are accompanied by a gradual reduction of g(2)(0)g^{(2)}(0)g(2)(0) towards unity, revealing the progressive build-up of coherence even in the presence of strong temporal fluctuations. Numerical simulations, based on a stochastic Truncated Wigner description of the driven-dissipative polariton field, reproduce these dynamics and capture the essential role of noise and reservoir interactions. This work demonstrates that the observed temporal hopping is an intrinsic feature of polariton condensation, providing a dynamical perspective that goes beyond static descriptions of the condensation phase transition.
Polariton condensates provide a versatile platform for exploring non-equilibrium phase transitions and collective phenomena in open quantum systems. Near the condensation threshold, these systems are particularly sensitive to fluctuations and instabilities, yet how these dynamics govern the initial formation of the condensate remains poorly understood. To address this, we directly access the photon statistics and second-order correlation function g (2) (0) of the condensate by using optical trapping and homodyne detection. We show that polariton condensation near the threshold is not a purely static transition, but instead undergoes a dynamical regime characterized by stochastic hopping between condensed and non-condensed states. These intermittent dynamics are accompanied by a gradual reduction of g (2) (0) toward unity, revealing the progressive build-up of coherence even in the presence of strong temporal fluctuations. Numerical simulations, based on a stochastic truncated Wigner description of the driven-dissipative polariton field, reproduce these dynamics and capture the essential role of noise and reservoir interactions. This work demonstrates that the observed temporal hopping is an intrinsic feature of polariton condensation, challenging traditional static descriptions of phase transitions and offering a framework for controlling noise and coherence in driven-dissipative quantum technologies.
Bose-Einstein condensate of exciton polaritons in a semiconductor microcavity is a macroscopically populated coherent quantum state subject to concurrent pumping and decay. Debates about the fundamental nature of the condensed phase in this open quantum system still persist. Here, we gain a new insight into the spontaneous condensation process by imaging long-lifetime exciton polaritons in a high-quality inorganic microcavity in the single-shot optical excitation regime, without averaging over multiple condensate realisations. In this highly non-stationary regime, a condensate is strongly influenced by the `hot' incoherent reservoir, and reservoir depletion is critical for the transition to the ground energy and momentum state. Condensates formed by more photonic exciton polaritons exhibit dramatic reservoir-induced density filamentation and shot-to-shot fluctuations. In contrast, condensates of more excitonic quasiparticles display smooth density and are second-order coherent. Our observations show that the single-shot measurements offer a unique opportunity to study formation of macroscopic phase coherence during a quantum phase transition in a solid state system.
Development of spontaneous coherence is one of the hallmarks of bosonic condensation in a variety of physical systems, such as cold atoms, confined photons, and hybrid light-matter quasiparticles like exciton polaritons in semiconductors. While spatial coherence is well understood once a steady-state condensate has been established, its temporal evolution as the condensate forms is largely unexplored. Here, we explore the dynamical formation of a non-equilibrium, driven-dissipative exciton-polariton condensate through both time-resolved experiments and numerical modeling. Our study reveals that the spatial coherence is established through two distinct stages. The early-time stage is interaction-driven and features transient oscillations in spatial coherence. This stage is followed by a steady-state regime characterized by a spatially-uniform high degree of coherence that extends over the entire size of the system and persists over time. These stages of spatial coherence development occur in both free flowing and confined exciton-polariton systems that undergo a quench - rapid growth of the condensate starting from two different initial settings. Our study offers a deep insight into the process by which long-range spatial coherence is established in a non-equilibrium bosonic condensate.
Superconducting single-photon detectors with time resolution of 80 ps have been used to study the spatiotemporal dynamics of a trapped bosonic condensate of exciton-polaritons. Both second- and first-order correlation functions are found to exhibit pronounced oscillations in time governed by the dynamics of the polariton condensate in the trap. We have identified the intermittent regime of stochastic transitions between stationary and limit-cycle regimes near the Andronov-Hopf bifurcation manifested in asymmetric distortions of the correlation function. This rich interplay of deterministic and stochastic condensate dynamics is explained theoretically as a manifestation of mutually compensating self-repulsion and reservoir-mediated attraction.
Abstract The dynamics of an exciton–polariton Bose–Einstein condensate in an optical microcavity was considered. A novel version of the stochastic Gross–Pitaevskii equation was proposed to describe the condensate evolution under the non-Markovian interaction with the environment. The proposed version was used to analyze the condensate dynamics at various temperatures. The phase transition from the homogeneous to the fragmented state of the condensate near a temperature of 15 K was detected. This phase transition is accompanied by a sharp drop in the condensate density and a decrease in the correlation length. It was found that, at a temperature of 10 K, the correlation length oscillates with time. The results obtained indicated the necessity to take into account the non-Markovianity of the condensate interaction with the excitonic reservoir.
Second-order time correlation measurements with a temporal resolution better than 3 ps were performed on a CdTe microcavity where spontaneous Bose-Einstein condensation is observed. After the laser pulse, the nonresonantly excited thermal polariton population relaxes into a coherent polariton condensate. Photon statistics of the light emitted by the microcavity evidences a clear phase transition from the thermal state to a coherent state, which occurs within 3.2 ps after the onset of stimulated scattering. Following this very fast transition, we show that the emission possesses a very high coherence that persists for more than 100 ps after the build-up of the condensate.