Different Phases of Polariton Lasers

Prof. Hui Deng, Professor in Physics, Applied Physics and Electrical Engineering, University of Michigan

Missed the presentation? Catch up on FLEET’s YouTube channel

Non-equilibrium systems can exhibit new types of phase transitions not found in equilibrium ones, such as spontaneous pattern formation and phase separation. An interesting platform for studying such phenomena is the exciton-polaritons in semiconductor micro-cavities.

As half-light half-matter quasi-particles, polaritons form an open, nonlinear system, which hosts the non-equilibrium counterpart of a rich variety of many-body phases.

After a brief review of polariton condensation, we will discuss a few phenomena that bear unique signatures of non-equilibrium quantum phases, including limit cycle spontaneous oscillations of dissipatively coupled condensates, an electron-hole-photon Bardeen Cooper Schrieffer (BCS) state, and phase separation of dynamic Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) and Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) phases in a steady-state non-equilibrium polariton condensate.

Professor Deng’s group’s research centers on the discovery, creation, control and applications of quantum states in single-, few-, and many-body systems with matter-light couplings. Current topics focus on light-matter interactions in van der Waals materials, phase transitions in strongly coupled charge and photon systems based on III-As or 2D materials in novel photonic structures, and applications of these systems to new photonic technologies and quantum information science.

This talk is part of an ongoing series of talks by US and Australian researchers presenting novel developments in condensed matter and cold atomic physics, enriching connections between the two physics communities. Co-presented by FLEET, Monash School of Physics and Astronomy, and the Joint Quantum Institute.

World Clock