Macroscopic coherence between quantum condensates formed at different times

TL;DR

This study demonstrates macroscopic coherence between temporally separated quantum condensates of exciton-polaritons, revealing how interactions, density, and temperature influence coherence build-up, with implications for quantum information and ultrafast technologies.

Contribution

It provides the first direct evidence of coherence between condensates formed at different times and introduces a new method to probe their ultrafast dynamics.

Findings

Coherence persists between condensates separated by more than the dephasing time.

Particle interactions and density influence coherence build-up.

Large nonlinear phase shifts from polariton interactions are measurable.

Abstract

We demonstrate macroscopic coherence between quantum condensates generated at different times, separated by more than the particle dephasing time. This is possible due to the dressed light-matter nature of exciton-polaritons, which can be injected resonantly by optical excitation at well-defined momenta. We show that the build-up of coherence between condensates depends on the interaction between the particles, particle density, as well as temperature despite the non-equilibrium nature of the condensate, whereas the mass of the particles plays no role in the condensation of resonantly injected polaritons. This experiment also makes it possible for us to measure directly the large nonlinear phase shift resulting from the polariton-polariton interaction energy. Our results provide direct evidence for coherence between different condensates and demonstrate a new approach for probing their ultrafast dynamics, opening new directions in the study of matter coherence as well as in practical applications such as quantum information and ultrafast logic.