Journal of Physics A Mathematical and General
On polariton instability and thermodynamic phase transition in a photon-matter system
M. Yamanoi
Abstract
It is shown that the rotating wave approximation in the minimal coupling Hamiltonian with the A 2 term leads to an incorrect energy spectrum of the polariton mode: in particular, to a spurious polariton instability which should not occur for a photon-matter system consisting of radiation and atoms without the Coulomb interaction. Thus the counter-rotating term in the presence of the A 2 term plays a crucial role in the instability property of the system. The super-radiant phase transition in the Dicke model is shown to be accompanied by polariton instability, and therefore by instability of the ground state of the photon-matter system. The rotating wave approximation, as well as the neglect of the A 2 term, should therefore not be made for the study of the thermodynamic phase transition and instability properties of the ground state of the system.