Dimensional Crossover in a Quantum Gas of Light

TL;DR

This study investigates how the properties of a photon Bose-Einstein condensate change as the system transitions from two-dimensional to one-dimensional confinement, revealing a crossover in phase transition behavior.

Contribution

It experimentally demonstrates the dimensional crossover in a photon gas and characterizes the associated changes in Bose-Einstein condensation properties.

Findings

Observation of a softening of the phase transition from 2D to 1D.

Measurement of caloric properties across the crossover.

Identification of a transition from a sharp phase transition to a crossover.

Abstract

The dimensionality of a system profoundly influences its physical behaviour, leading to the emergence of different states of matter in many-body quantum systems. In lower dimensions, fluctuations increase and lead to the suppression of long-range order. For example, in bosonic gases, Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) in one dimension requires stronger confinement than in two dimensions. We experimentally study the properties of a harmonically trapped photon gas undergoing Bose-Einstein condensation along the dimensional crossover from one to two dimensions. The photons are trapped in a dye microcavity where polymer nanostructures provide the trapping potential for the photon gas. By varying the aspect ratio of the harmonic trap, we tune from an isotropic two-dimensional confinement to an anisotropic, highly elongated one-dimensional trapping potential. Along this transition we determine the caloric properties of the photon gas and find a softening of the second-order Bose-Einstein condensation phase transition observed in two dimensions to a crossover behaviour in one dimension.