skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Polariton condensation and lasing in optical microcavities: The decoherence-driven crossover

Abstract

We explore the behavior of a system that consists of a photon mode dipole coupled to a medium of two-level oscillators in a microcavity in the presence of decoherence. We consider two types of decoherence processes, which are analogous to magnetic and nonmagnetic impurities in superconductors. We study different phases of this system as the decoherence strength and the excitation density are changed. For a low decoherence we obtain a polariton condensate with comparable excitonic and photonic parts at low densities and a BCS-like state with a bigger photon component due to the fermionic phase-space filling effect at high densities. In both cases there is a large gap in the density of states. As the decoherence is increased, the gap is broadened and suppressed, resulting in a gapless condensate and finally a suppression of the coherence in a low-density regime and a laser at the high-density limit. A crossover between these regimes is studied in a self-consistent way analogous to the Abrikosov and Gor'kov theory of gapless superconductivity [A. A. Abrikosov and L. P. Gor'kov, Sov. Phys. JETP 12, 1243 (1960)].

Authors:
; ;  [1]
  1. Theory of Condensed Matter, Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge CB3 0HE, (United Kingdom)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
20639969
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Physical Review. A
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 68; Journal Issue: 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevA.68.013818; (c) 2003 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 1050-2947
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS; BCS THEORY; DIPOLES; ENERGY-LEVEL DENSITY; EXCITATION; FERMIONS; IMPURITIES; OPTICS; OSCILLATORS; PHASE SPACE; PHOTONS; POLARONS; RESONATORS; SUPERCONDUCTIVITY; SUPERCONDUCTORS

Citation Formats

Szymanska, M H, Littlewood, P B, and Simons, B D. Polariton condensation and lasing in optical microcavities: The decoherence-driven crossover. United States: N. p., 2003. Web. doi:10.1103/PhysRevA.68.013818.
Szymanska, M H, Littlewood, P B, & Simons, B D. Polariton condensation and lasing in optical microcavities: The decoherence-driven crossover. United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.68.013818
Szymanska, M H, Littlewood, P B, and Simons, B D. 2003. "Polariton condensation and lasing in optical microcavities: The decoherence-driven crossover". United States. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.68.013818.
@article{osti_20639969,
title = {Polariton condensation and lasing in optical microcavities: The decoherence-driven crossover},
author = {Szymanska, M H and Littlewood, P B and Simons, B D},
abstractNote = {We explore the behavior of a system that consists of a photon mode dipole coupled to a medium of two-level oscillators in a microcavity in the presence of decoherence. We consider two types of decoherence processes, which are analogous to magnetic and nonmagnetic impurities in superconductors. We study different phases of this system as the decoherence strength and the excitation density are changed. For a low decoherence we obtain a polariton condensate with comparable excitonic and photonic parts at low densities and a BCS-like state with a bigger photon component due to the fermionic phase-space filling effect at high densities. In both cases there is a large gap in the density of states. As the decoherence is increased, the gap is broadened and suppressed, resulting in a gapless condensate and finally a suppression of the coherence in a low-density regime and a laser at the high-density limit. A crossover between these regimes is studied in a self-consistent way analogous to the Abrikosov and Gor'kov theory of gapless superconductivity [A. A. Abrikosov and L. P. Gor'kov, Sov. Phys. JETP 12, 1243 (1960)].},
doi = {10.1103/PhysRevA.68.013818},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/20639969}, journal = {Physical Review. A},
issn = {1050-2947},
number = 1,
volume = 68,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 2003},
month = {Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 2003}
}