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arXiv · 1410.5713

Thermalization kinetics of light: From laser dynamics to equilibrium condensation of photons

Julian Schmitt·Tobias Damm·David Dung·Frank Vewinger·Jan Klaers·Martin Weitz
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Abstract

We report a time-resolved study of the thermalization dynamics and the lasing to photon Bose-Einstein condensation crossover by in-\textit{situ} monitoring the photon kinetics in a dye microcavity. When the equilibration of the light to the dye temperature by absorption and re-emission 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.

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Julian Schmitt, Tobias Damm, David Dung, Frank Vewinger, Jan Klaers, Martin Weitz. 2015-05-22. Thermalization kinetics of light: From laser dynamics to equilibrium condensation of photons. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.92.011602

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