Penrose-Onsager Criterion Validation in a One-Dimensional Polariton Condensate

TL;DR

This study experimentally verifies the Penrose-Onsager criterion for Bose-Einstein condensation in a one-dimensional polariton condensate using quantum tomography and interferometry, confirming its applicability in nonequilibrium systems.

Contribution

It provides the first full quantum tomography of a 1D polariton condensate and tests the Penrose-Onsager criterion's validity in a nonequilibrium context.

Findings

Confirmation of the Penrose-Onsager criterion's validity for nonequilibrium polariton condensates

Full reconstruction of the single particle density matrix in a 1D polariton system

Demonstration of coherence properties in a disordered microcavity environment

Abstract

We perform quantum tomography on one-dimensional polariton condensates, spontaneously occurring in linear disorder valleys in a CdTe planar microcavity sample. By the use of optical interferometric techniques, we determine the first-order coherence function and the amplitude and phase of the order parameter of the condensate, providing a full reconstruction of the single particle density matrix for the polariton system. The experimental data are used as input to theoretically test the consistency of Penrose-Onsager criterion for Bose-Einstein condensation in the framework of nonequilibrium polariton condensates. The results confirm the pertinence and validity of the criterion for a non equilibrium condensed gas.