01390nas a2200145 4500008004100000245007200041210006900113520091900182100002201101700002101123700001801144700002601162700001901188856003701207 2018 eng d00aBose Condensation of Photons Thermalized via Laser Cooling of Atoms0 aBose Condensation of Photons Thermalized via Laser Cooling of At3 a
A Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) is a quantum phase of matter achieved at low temperatures. Photons, one of the most prominent species of bosons, do not typically condense due to the lack of a particle number-conservation. We recently described a photon thermalization mechanism which gives rise to a grand canonical ensemble of light with effective photon number conservation between a subsystem and a particle reservoir. This mechanism occurs during Doppler laser cooling of atoms where the atoms serve as a temperature reservoir while the cooling laser photons serve as a particle reservoir. Here we address the question of the possibility of a BEC of photons in this laser cooling photon thermalization scenario and theoretically demonstrate that a Bose condensation of photons can be realized by cooling an ensemble of two-level atoms (realizable with alkaline earth atoms) inside a Fabry-Perot cavity.
1 aWang, Chiao-Hsuan1 aGullans, Michael1 aPorto, J., V.1 aPhillips, William, D.1 aTaylor, J., M. uhttps://arxiv.org/abs/1809.07777