TY - JOUR
T1 - Thermalization kinetics of light
T2 - From laser dynamics to equilibrium condensation of photons
AU - Schmitt, Julian
AU - Damm, Tobias
AU - Dung, David
AU - Vewinger, Frank
AU - Klaers, Jan
AU - Weitz, Martin
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 American Physical Society. ©2015 American Physical Society.
PY - 2015/7/27
Y1 - 2015/7/27
N2 - We report a time-resolved study of the thermalization dynamics and the lasing to photon Bose-Einstein condensation crossover by in situ monitoring the photon kinetics in a dye microcavity. When the equilibration of the light to the dye temperature by absorption and reemission is faster than photon loss in the cavity, the optical spectrum becomes Bose-Einstein distributed and photons accumulate at low-energy states, forming a Bose-Einstein condensate. The thermalization of the photon gas and its evolution from nonequilibrium initial distributions to condensation is monitored in real time. In contrast, if photons leave the cavity before they thermalize, the system operates as a laser.
AB - We report a time-resolved study of the thermalization dynamics and the lasing to photon Bose-Einstein condensation crossover by in situ monitoring the photon kinetics in a dye microcavity. When the equilibration of the light to the dye temperature by absorption and reemission is faster than photon loss in the cavity, the optical spectrum becomes Bose-Einstein distributed and photons accumulate at low-energy states, forming a Bose-Einstein condensate. The thermalization of the photon gas and its evolution from nonequilibrium initial distributions to condensation is monitored in real time. In contrast, if photons leave the cavity before they thermalize, the system operates as a laser.
KW - n/a OA procedure
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84938634657&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1103/PhysRevA.92.011602
DO - 10.1103/PhysRevA.92.011602
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84938634657
SN - 1050-2947
VL - 92
JO - Physical Review A - Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics
JF - Physical Review A - Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics
IS - 1
M1 - 011602
ER -