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Physics-Uspekhi

Superradiant quantum phase transition in a semiconductor at room temperature: myth or reality?

Petr P Vasil'ev

Published Oct 1, 2024• 3 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The paper examines the conditions for and mechanism of the onset of a nonequilibrium superradiant phase transition in a bulk semiconductor at room temperature in the strong coupling regime.Experimental data are analyzed, and the characteristic properties of this phase transition are compared with previously studied quantum phase transitions in ultracold gases in traps, ensembles of quantum dots, superconducting qubits, and some others.All the basic properties of the previously discovered collective state formed in the process of induced condensation of electron-hole pairs at room temperature are shown to correspond to those of the superradiant phase transition observed in other media.

DOI
10.3367/ufne.2024.10.039772

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The paper examines the conditions for and mechanism of the onset of a nonequilibrium superradiant phase transition in a bulk semiconductor at room temperature in the strong coupling regime.Experimental data are analyzed, and the characteristic properties of this phase transition are compared with previously studied quantum phase transitions in ultracold gases in traps, ensembles of quantum dots, superconducting qubits, and some others.All the basic properties of the previously discovered collective state formed in the process of induced condensation of electron-hole pairs at room temperature are shown to correspond to those of the superradiant phase transition observed in other media.
The effect of the nonstationary condensation of electron-hole pairs in GaAs/AlGaAs p-i-n heterostructures at room temperature under the conditions of generation of superradiance pulses was demonstrated in an explicit form. It was found that a dramatic decrease in spontaneous emission from the entire conduction band and a rapid electron transition to the very bottom of the band occurred at the earliest stages of the development of a superradiance pulse. The condensation of electrons at the band bottom resulted in the formation of a nonequilibrium coherent cooperative state, the recombination of which was observed previously as high-power femtosecond superradiance pulses.
A review of an experimental study of superradiance in semiconductor inorganic structures is presented. It is demonstrated that unique properties of superradiant emission are determined by unusual properties of electrons and holes, namely, the formation of BCS-like state in a system of collectively paired electrons and holes. This can adequately explain all features of superradiance, including its femtosecond pulse duration, record peak power, optical spectrum, spatial and temporal coherency and macroscopically large fluctuations. The effect of non-equilibrium condensation of electrons and holes in the phase domain at room temperature is experimentally demonstrated. The critical temperature of condensation in a strongly degenerate system of electrons and holes is finally theoretically estimated.
The quantum properties of superradiant pulses generated at the radiative recombination of an electron–hole condensate in semiconductor heterostructures at room temperature have been studied using optical homodyne tomography. Signatures of the quantum entanglement of superradiant states, which are superpositions of two coherent states, have been revealed. It has been demonstrated that reconstructed Wigner functions under certain conditions are very similar to the Wigner functions of the Schrödinger cat states.
Rabi oscillations in semiconductor heterostructures generating superradiance at room temperature have been studied experimentally and theoretically. An anomalously long oscillation decay time has been observed experimentally in structures with a low- Q cavity. A theoretical model of the dynamics of the coherent interaction of an electron–hole system with an electromagnetic field in such a cavity, which is based on the classical Maxwell–Bloch equations, predicts a decay time more than an order of magnitude shorter than that measured experimentally. It is suggested that one of the possible reasons for this effect may be the presence of quantum feedback arising from two counterpropagating electromagnetic waves, which mediate the interaction of two coherent electron–hole ensembles and lead to their quantum entanglement with the electromagnetic field.
Superradiance (SR), or cooperative spontaneous emission, has been predicted by R. Dicke before the invention of the laser. During the last few years one can see a renaissance of both experimental and theoretical studies of the superradiant phase transition in a variety of media, ranging from quantum dots and Bose condensates through to black holes. Until recently, despite of many years of research, SR has been considered as a phenomenon of pure scientific interest without obvious potential applications. However, recent investigations of the femtosecond SR emission generation from semiconductors have opened up some practical opportunities for the exploitation of this quantum optics phenomenon. Here we present a brief review of some features, advantages and potential applications of the SR generation from semiconductor laser structures
Atomic ensembles strongly interacting with light constitute rich quantum-optical many-body systems, with the potential for observing cooperative effects and dissipative nonequilibrium phase transitions. We theoretically analyze the conditions under which a driven atomic ensemble in free space, characterized by strong dipole-dipole interactions and large spatial extent, can undergo a superradiant phase transition, also known as cooperative resonance fluorescence. In an atomic array, stationary states that conserve the collective pseudospin exhibit completely cooperative decay and undergo a second-order phase transition in the large atom number limit. In contrast, decay mechanisms on longer timescales that fail to conserve pseudospin can lead to discontinuous first-order phase transition at a critical finite atom number, disrupting cooperation despite sharing many similar observable characteristics. A hallmark of the superradiant phase transition is an abrupt shift from total light reflection off the atoms to rapidly increasing transmission, accompanied by significant quantum fluctuations, as a function of light intensity.