Bose-Einstein condensation of photons
File(s)
Author(s)
Marelic, Jakov
Type
Thesis
Abstract
A Bose-Einstein condensate can be made of photons. The photons are held at thermodynamic equilibrium in a dye-filled microcavity and pumped with a laser. Thermalisation can be demonstrated and above the threshold a Bose-Einstein condensate will form. A Mach-Zehnder interferometer is built and used to measure the spatial and temporal first-order coherence under various conditions. We build a momentum-resolved spectrometer and use it to obtain views into the phase-space distribution of the photon condensate. We put an upper bound on the value of the interaction strength parameter and find that the microcavity system is ergodic even when not at thermal equilibrium. We build a setup to stabilise the pump laser power with the aim to observe the λ-point of the condensate.
Version
Open Access
Date Issued
2017-10
Date Awarded
2018-05
Copyright Statement
Attribution NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence (CC BY-ND)
Advisor
Nyman, Robert
Hinds, Edward
Sponsor
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
Publisher Department
Physics
Publisher Institution
Imperial College London
Qualification Level
Doctoral
Qualification Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)