Symmetry-breaking in a condensate of light and its use as a quantum sensor
| Autor: | Yaroslav Gorbachev, Robert Bennett, David Steinbrecht, Stefan Yoshi Buhmann |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2019 |
| Předmět: |
Circular dichroism
Photon FOS: Physical sciences General Physics and Astronomy Physics::Optics Applied Physics (physics.app-ph) 02 engineering and technology 01 natural sciences law.invention Polarizability law 0103 physical sciences Molecule Symmetry breaking 010306 general physics Physics Condensed Matter::Quantum Gases Quantum Physics Condensed Matter::Other Quantum sensor Physics - Applied Physics 021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology Laser Polarization (waves) Atomic physics Quantum Physics (quant-ph) 0210 nano-technology |
| ISSN: | 2331-7019 |
| Popis: | Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs) represent one of the very few manifestations of purely quantum effects on a macroscopic level. The vast majority of BECs achieved in the lab to date consist of bosonic atoms, which macroscopically populate the ground state once a threshold temperature has been reached. Recently, a new type of condensate was observed - the photon BEC, where light in a dye-filled cavity thermalises with dye molecules under the influence of an external driving laser, condensing to the lowest-energy mode. However, the precise relationship between the photon BEC and symmetry-breaking phenomena has not yet been investigated. Here we consider medium-induced symmetry breaking in a photon BEC and show that it can be used as a quantum sensor. The introduction of polarisable objects such as chiral molecules lifts the degeneracy between cavity modes of different polarisations. Even a tiny imbalance is imprinted on the condensate polarisation in a 'winner takes it all' effect. When used as a sensor for enantiomeric excess, the predicted sensitivity exceeds that of contemporary methods based on circular dichroism. Our results introduce a new symmetry-breaking mechanism that is independent of the external pump, and demonstrate that the photon BEC can be used for practical purposes. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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