Superconductivity and other phase transitions in a hybrid Bose-Fermi mixture formed by a polariton condensate and an electron system in two dimensions

TL;DR

This paper explores a novel hybrid Bose-Fermi system combining a polariton condensate with a 2D electron system, predicting tunable long-range interactions that could enable optically controlled superconductivity at a few Kelvin.

Contribution

It introduces a new hybrid system with long-range, tunable interactions and analyzes its potential for high-temperature superconductivity and other phase transitions.

Findings

Superconductivity with critical temperatures of a few Kelvin predicted.

Long-range, tunable interactions peaked at specific wavevectors.

Potential for optical control of superconductivity in heterostructures.

Abstract

Interacting Bose-Fermi systems play a central role in condensed matter physics. Here, we analyze a novel Bose-Fermi mixture formed by a cavity exciton-polariton condensate interacting with a two-dimensional electron system. We show that that previous predictions of superconductivity [F.P. Laussy, Phys. Rev. Lett. 10, 104 (2010)] and excitonic supersolid formation [I.A. Shelykh, Phys. Rev. Lett. 14, 105 (2010)] in this system are closely intertwined- resembling the predictions for strongly correlated electron systems such as high temperature superconductors. In stark contrast to a large majority of Bose-Fermi systems analyzed in solids and ultracold atomic gases, the renormalized interaction between the polaritons and electrons in our system is long-ranged and strongly peaked at a tunable wavevector, which can be rendered incommensurate with the Fermi momentum. We analyze the prospects for experimental observation of superconductivity and find that critical temperatures on the order of a few Kelvins can be achieved in heterostructures consisting of transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers that are embedded in an open cavity structure. All optical control of superconductivity in semiconductor heterostructures could enable the realization of new device concepts compatible with semiconductor nanotechnology. In addition the possibility to interface quantum Hall physics, superconductivity and nonequilibrium polariton condensates is likely to provide fertile ground for investigation of completely new physical phenomena.