772 research outputs found
Absorption, Photoluminescence and Resonant Rayleigh Scattering Probes of Condensed Microcavity Polaritons
We investigate and compare different optical probes of a condensed state of
microcavity polaritons in expected experimental conditions of non-resonant
pumping. We show that the energy- and momentum-resolved resonant Rayleigh
signal provide a distinctive probe of condensation as compared to, e.g.,
photoluminescence emission. In particular, the presence of a collective sound
mode both above and below the chemical potential can be observed, as well as
features directly related to the density of states of particle-hole like
excitations. Both resonant Rayleigh response and the absorption and
photoluminescence, are affected by the presence of quantum well disorder, which
introduces a distribution of oscillator strengths between quantum well excitons
at a given energy and cavity photons at a given momentum. As we show, this
distribution makes it important that in the condensed regime, scattering by
disorder is taken into account to all orders. We show that, in the low density
linear limit, this approach correctly describes inhomogeneous broadening of
polaritons. In addition, in this limit, we extract a linear blue-shift of the
lower polariton versus density, with a coefficient determined by temperature
and by a characteristic disorder length.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figures; minor correction
Spontaneous rotating vortex rings in a parametrically driven polariton fluid
We present the theoretical prediction of spontaneous rotating vortex rings in
a parametrically driven quantum fluid of polaritons -- coherent superpositions
of coupled quantum well excitons and microcavity photons. These rings arise not
only in the absence of any rotating drive, but also in the absence of a
trapping potential, in a model known to map quantitatively to experiments. We
begin by proposing a novel parametric pumping scheme for polaritons, with
circular symmetry and radial currents, and characterize the resulting
nonequilibrium condensate. We show that the system is unstable to spontaneous
breaking of circular symmetry via a modulational instability, following which a
vortex ring with large net angular momentum emerges, rotating in one of two
topologically distinct states. Such rings are robust and carry distinctive
experimental signatures, and so they could find applications in the new
generation of polaritonic devices.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Non-equilibrium Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless Transition in a Driven Open Quantum System
The Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless mechanism, in which a phase transition is
mediated by the proliferation of topological defects, governs the critical
behaviour of a wide range of equilibrium two-dimensional systems with a
continuous symmetry, ranging from superconducting thin films to two-dimensional
Bose fluids, such as liquid helium and ultracold atoms. We show here that this
phenomenon is not restricted to thermal equilibrium, rather it survives more
generally in a dissipative highly non-equilibrium system driven into a
steady-state. By considering a light-matter superfluid of polaritons, in the
so-called optical parametric oscillator regime, we demonstrate that it indeed
undergoes a vortex binding-unbinding phase transition. Yet, the exponent of the
power-law decay of the first order correlation function in the (algebraically)
ordered phase can exceed the equilibrium upper limit -- a surprising
occurrence, which has also been observed in a recent experiment. Thus we
demonstrate that the ordered phase is somehow more robust against the quantum
fluctuations of driven systems than thermal ones in equilibrium.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figure
Voltage controlled nuclear polarization switching in a single InGaAs quantum dot
Sharp threshold-like transitions between two stable nuclear spin
polarizations are observed in optically pumped individual InGaAs self-assembled
quantum dots embedded in a Schottky diode when the bias applied to the diode is
tuned. The abrupt transitions lead to the switching of the Overhauser field in
the dot by up to 3 Tesla. The bias-dependent photoluminescence measurements
reveal the importance of the electron-tunneling-assisted nuclear spin pumping.
We also find evidence for the resonant LO-phonon-mediated electron
co-tunneling, the effect controlled by the applied bias and leading to the
reduction of the nuclear spin pumping rate.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Phys Rev
Giant Stark effect in the emission of single semiconductor quantum dots
We study the quantum-confined Stark effect in single InAs/GaAs quantum dots
embedded within a AlGaAs/GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well. By significantly increasing
the barrier height we can observe emission from a dot at electric fields of
-500 kV/cm, leading to Stark shifts of up to 25 meV. Our results suggest this
technique may enable future applications that require self-assembled dots with
transitions at the same energy
Fast optical preparation, control, and readout of a single quantum dot spin
We propose and demonstrate the sequential initialization, optical control, and readout of a single spin trapped in a semiconductor quantum dot. Hole spin preparation is achieved through ionization of a resonantly excited electron-hole pair. Optical control is observed as a coherent Rabi rotation between the hole and charged-exciton states, which is conditional on the initial hole spin state. The spin-selective creation of the charged exciton provides a photocurrent readout of the hole spin state. © 2008 The American Physical Society
Overhauser effect in individual InP/GaInP dots
Sizable nuclear spin polarization is pumped in individual InP/GaInP dots in a
wide range of external magnetic fields B_ext=0-5T by circularly polarized
optical excitation. We observe nuclear polarization of up to ~40% at Bext=1.5T
and corresponding to an Overhauser field of ~1.2T. We find a strong feedback of
the nuclear spin on the spin pumping efficiency. This feedback, produced by the
Overhauser field, leads to nuclear spin bi-stability at low magnetic fields of
Bext=0.5-1.5T. We find that the exciton Zeeman energy increases markedly, when
the Overhauser field cancels the external field. This counter-intuitive result
is shown to arise from the opposite contribution of the electron and hole
Zeeman splittings to the total exciton Zeeman energy
Overhauser effect in individual InP/GaInP dots
Sizable nuclear spin polarization is pumped in individual InP/GaInP dots in a
wide range of external magnetic fields B_ext=0-5T by circularly polarized
optical excitation. We observe nuclear polarization of up to ~40% at Bext=1.5T
and corresponding to an Overhauser field of ~1.2T. We find a strong feedback of
the nuclear spin on the spin pumping efficiency. This feedback, produced by the
Overhauser field, leads to nuclear spin bi-stability at low magnetic fields of
Bext=0.5-1.5T. We find that the exciton Zeeman energy increases markedly, when
the Overhauser field cancels the external field. This counter-intuitive result
is shown to arise from the opposite contribution of the electron and hole
Zeeman splittings to the total exciton Zeeman energy
- …