Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking and Phase Coherence of a Photon Bose-Einstein Condensate Coupled to a Reservoir

We examine the phase evolution of a Bose-Einstein condensate of photons generated in a dye microcavity by temporal interference with a phase reference. The photoexcitable dye molecules constitute a reservoir of variable size for the condensate particles, allowing for grand canonical statistics with photon bunching, as in a lamp-type source. We directly observe phase jumps of the condensate associated with the large statistical number fluctuations and find a separation of correlation time scales. For large systems, our data reveal phase coherence and a spontaneously broken symmetry, despite the statistical fluctuations.