Theory of Bose-Einstein condensation and superfluidity of two-dimensional polaritons in an in-plane harmonic potential

Recent experiments have shown that it is possible to create an in-plane harmonic potential trap for a two-dimensional (2D) gas of exciton polaritons in a microcavity structure, and evidence has been reported of Bose-Einstein condensation of polaritons accumulated in this type of trap. We present her...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical review. B, Condensed matter and materials physics Vol. 77; no. 15
Main Authors: Berman, Oleg L., Lozovik, Yurii E., Snoke, David W.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States 16.04.2008
Subjects:
ANGULAR MOMENTUM
BOSE-EINSTEIN CONDENSATION
CONDENSATES
CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
EXCITONS
HARMONIC POTENTIAL
POLARONS
SUPERFLUIDITY
TRAPS
TWO-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS
ISSN:1098-0121, 1550-235X
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Recent experiments have shown that it is possible to create an in-plane harmonic potential trap for a two-dimensional (2D) gas of exciton polaritons in a microcavity structure, and evidence has been reported of Bose-Einstein condensation of polaritons accumulated in this type of trap. We present here the theory of Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) and superfluidity of the exciton polaritons in a harmonic potential trap. Along the way, we determine a general method for defining the superfluid fraction in a 2D trap, in terms of angular momentum representation. We show that in the continuum limit, as the trap becomes shallower, the superfluid fraction approaches the 2D Kosterlitz-Thouless limit, while the condensate fraction approaches zero, as expected.
ISSN:1098-0121
1550-235X
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevB.77.155317