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Physical review. B, Condensed matter

Bose-Einstein statistical properties and condensation of excitonic molecules in CuCl

Nasser N. Peyghambarian, Lloyd L. Chase, A. Mysyrowicz

Published Feb 15, 1983• 81 citations
Publisher

Abstract

A comprehensive investigation of the optical properties of excitonic molecules in CuCl films is presented and discussed. The experimental work includes resonant two-photon absorption (TPA), observations of the resonantly excited biexciton emission, and optical pump-and-probe studies. The collision broadening of the TPA implies a collision rate \ensuremath{\sim}${10}^{\ensuremath{-}12}$ sec for the biexcitons, which is sufficiently rapid to establish a quasithermal equilibrium for the particles on a time scale that is short in comparison with the biexciton lifetime and the duration of the laser pump pulse. The biexciton luminescence line shapes obtained with resonant $\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{\mathrm{k}}=0$ two-photon excitation have been fitted using a Bose-Einstein thermal distribution of biexcitons. The chemical potential obtained from the fits goes to zero as the biexciton density is increased at a fixed lattice temperature or if the lattice temperature is decreased at fixed density. The sharp luminescence features that are observed at high densities and low temperatures with single-beam, two-photon excitation are interpreted as resulting from a Bose-Einstein---condensed state of the biexcitons at twice the wave vector of the laser pumping photons. Further evidence for a condensed state is obtained from optical-probe measurements in which a small number of probe biexcitons is injected into the sample, with and without the presence of a condensed state produced by an intense laser pump beam. The luminescence of these injected probe biexcitons is modified in the presence of the pump beam such that it exhibits the sharp features of the emission from the condensed state. Measurements of optical gain and stimulated emission in the presence of the pump beam show that the redistribution of the probe luminescence does not result from those processes, but must involve a preferential redistribution of the probe particles in momentum space via collisions. Such a redistribution is expected when additional particles are added to a condensed system of bosons.

DOI
10.1103/physrevb.27.2325

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Journal of the Physical Society of Japan•Feb 1, 1984•27 citations
A comprehensive investigation of the optical properties of excitonic molecules in CuCl films is presented and discussed. The experimental work includes resonant two-photon absorption (TPA), observations of the resonantly excited biexciton emission, and optical pump-and-probe studies. The collision broadening of the TPA implies a collision rate \ensuremath{\sim}10\ensuremath−12{10}^{\ensuremath{-}12}10\ensuremath−12 sec for the biexcitons, which is sufficiently rapid to establish a quasithermal equilibrium for the particles on a time scale that is short in comparison with the biexciton lifetime and the duration of the laser pump pulse. The biexciton luminescence line shapes obtained with resonant k\ensuremath→=0\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{\mathrm{k}}=0k\ensuremath→​=0 two-photon excitation have been fitted using a Bose-Einstein thermal distribution of biexcitons. The chemical potential obtained from the fits goes to zero as the biexciton density is increased at a fixed lattice temperature or if the lattice temperature is decreased at fixed density. The sharp luminescence features that are observed at high densities and low temperatures with single-beam, two-photon excitation are interpreted as resulting from a Bose-Einstein---condensed state of the biexcitons at twice the wave vector of the laser pumping photons. Further evidence for a condensed state is obtained from optical-probe measurements in which a small number of probe biexcitons is injected into the sample, with and without the presence of a condensed state produced by an intense laser pump beam. The luminescence of these injected probe biexcitons is modified in the presence of the pump beam such that it exhibits the sharp features of the emission from the condensed state. Measurements of optical gain and stimulated emission in the presence of the pump beam show that the redistribution of the probe luminescence does not result from those processes, but must involve a preferential redistribution of the probe particles in momentum space via collisions. Such a redistribution is expected when additional particles are added to a condensed system of bosons.
The case of excitons as candidates for Bose–Einstein condensation is discussed, and experimental results in CuCl and Cu 2 O are presented. In CuCl, spectral analysis of the luminescence from biexcitons as a function of their density reveals a gradual evolution from classical statistics towards a quantum degenerate regime. The appearance of a sharp emission line below a critical temperature and above a critical density is attributed to the presence of a laser-induced Bose–Einstein condensate of excitonic molecules. This interpretation is supported by pump-probe experiments which show that additional particles injected in the presence of a biexciton condensate are drawn into it. In Cu 2 O, free exciton luminescence spectral analysis of ortho- and paraexcitons reveals a gradual evolution from a classical to a Bose quantum degenerate regime with increasing particle densities. Orthoexciton densities close to the critical density for condensation are obtained at high incoherent excitation. Under similar pumping, paraexciton densities exceeding the critical value are inferred from luminescence intensity ratios. Anomalous transport properties of paraexcitons, such as ballistic propagation over macroscopic distances and formation of soliton-like excitonic packets are discussed as evidence for excitonic superfluidity. Introduction Excitons The lowest electronically excited state of a non-metallic crystal corresponds to the promotion of one electron from the top of the highest fully occupied valence band to the bottom of the next empty conduction band. A correct evaluation of the required energy must include the Coulomb correlation between the promoted electron and all other electrons left behind in the valence band.
Various optical spectra such as time-resolved luminescence spectra are studied for excitonic molecules in CuCl under two-photon resonance excitation by using picosecond and nanosecond frequency-tunable laser pulses. Two sharp emission lines observed under resonance excitation are ascribed to the radiative decay of “cold” excitonic molecules created directly at k ∼2 k 0 , while the broad emission band on the low energy side of the sharp line to the luminescence of “hot” molecules created through single excitons. The stimulated emission process gives a considerable influence on both the sharp luminescence lines and the hot molecule band, and further on two-photon resonant excitonic Raman lines as well. Discussions are made on the Bose condensation of the excitonic molecules and also on whether the emission under just-resonance excitation is due to Raman scattering or luminescence.
In a first part, a brief review of some excitonic properties is presented, with the accent put on their relevance with respect to the possibility of Bose-Einstein condensation. In a second part, recent experimental evidence is described, which supports the idea that excitonic particles may form a highly quantum fluid. In Cu20, the analysis of the exciton decay spectrum shows a gradual evolution of the gas from a classical regime at low densities up to a strongly degenerate one at high densities, with a chemical potential µ ~ 0. In CuCl excitons are unstable against formation of molecules (biexcitons). It is possible to generate directly a high density gas of biexcitons with momentum K ~ 0 by giant two-photon absorption. At low excitation, the observed molecular emission is in agreement with Maxwell -Boltzmann statistics. At high densities, strong deviations occur. In particular, the appearance of a sharp emission line is attributed to the presence of a Bose-Einstein condensate of excitonic molecules.
Pulsed-laser excitation of naturally grown crystals of Cu2{\mathrm{Cu}}_{2}Cu2​O produces a dense gas of excitons, which exhibits Bose-Einstein quantum statistics. Both orthoexcitons and paraexcitons, split by a 12-meV electron-hole exchange energy, are formed. At high excitation levels, the time-resolved luminescence of orthoexcitons yields a density-temperature relation that follows the phase boundary for Bose-Einstein condensation, n=CT3/2{\mathit{CT}}^{3/2}CT3/2, but no striking evidence for a condensed fraction is observed. We have now measured the time-resolved spectrum of the lower-lying paraexcitons whose luminescence is 1500 times weaker than the orthoexciton luminescence. At intermediate power levels, the paraexciton distribution is more degenerate than the orthoexcitons. The relative intensities of the two species indicate that at high excitation levels the paraexciton density exceeds the critical density for condensation. At these high densities the paraexciton spectrum develops a structure that cannot be explained in terms of the thermalized Bose-Einstein distribution. Time-resolved spatial measurements of the luminescence indicate a rapid nondiffusive expansion of the gas at supersonic velocities that approach the expected ballistic velocities of the excitons. The rapid transport and the concurrent changes in the spectral distribution of paraexcitons may be the first observation of excitonic Bose-Einstein condensation and superfluidity.
We present a thorough investigation of the different relaxation channels opened in a strongly interacting system of excitonic quasiparticles in CuCl for density regimes ranging up to 50 MW/cm2{\mathrm{cm}}^{2}cm2. A spectrally narrow pump beam consisting of 30-ps pulses is tuned around one-half the biexciton energy. It creates an initial distribution of biexcitons through resonant two-photon absorption. A spectrally broad probe beam made of pulses that also have 30-ps duration monitors the excitation-induced variation of the transmission spectrum of CuCl samples near the Z3{\mathit{Z}}_{3}Z3​ exciton resonance. Coherent processes corresponding to parametric emissions of various orders are observed. Absorption and gain bands that reflect the evolution of biexciton and exciton populations on their respective dispersion curves are followed as functions of the time delay between pump and probe pulses.
Line shapes of the giant two-photon absorption (GTA) band for the direct generation of excitonic molecules (EM) and the subsequent secondary emission of the EM resonantly generated have been studied in CuCl at various pump powers with the use of a high resolution spectroscopic method. The mutual collision of the EM, the rate of which is nearly proportional to their density, is found to be the main origin for causing the broadening of the GTA band, the decrease of the Raman yield and the rapid increase of the EM luminescence. The collision rate increases up to 10 12 /sec for the pump power of ∼1 MW/cm 2 . With the use of pump and probe method further evidence is obtained for the effectiveness of the mutual collision of the EM.