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Observation of Grand-Canonical Number Statistics in a Photon Bose-Einstein Condensate

Julian Schmitt, Tobias Damm, David Dung, Frank Vewinger, Jan Klaers, and Martin Weitz
Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 030401 – Published 21 January 2014; Erratum Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 069901 (2014)
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Abstract

We report measurements of particle number correlations and fluctuations of a photon Bose-Einstein condensate in a dye microcavity using a Hanbury Brown-Twiss experiment. The photon gas is coupled to a reservoir of molecular excitations, which serve as both heat bath and particle reservoir to realize grand-canonical conditions. For large reservoirs, we observe strong number fluctuations of the order of the total particle number extending deep into the condensed phase. Our results demonstrate that Bose-Einstein condensation under grand-canonical ensemble conditions does not imply second-order coherence.

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  • Received 25 October 2013
  • Publisher error corrected 22 January 2014

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.030401

© 2014 American Physical Society

Corrections

22 January 2014

Erratum

Publisher’s Note: Observation of Grand-Canonical Number Statistics in a Photon Bose-Einstein Condensate [Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 030401 (2014)]

Julian Schmitt, Tobias Damm, David Dung, Frank Vewinger, Jan Klaers, and Martin Weitz
Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 069901 (2014)

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Statistical flickers in a Bose-Einstein Condensate of Photons

Published 21 January 2014

Experiments with photons show that the number of particles in a Bose-Einstein condensate can have strong fluctuations.

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Authors & Affiliations

Julian Schmitt*, Tobias Damm, David Dung, Frank Vewinger, Jan Klaers, and Martin Weitz

  • Institut für Angewandte Physik, Universität Bonn, Wegelerstraße 8, 53115 Bonn, Germany

  • *schmitt@iap.uni-bonn.de
  • klaers@iap.uni-bonn.de

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Issue

Vol. 112, Iss. 3 — 24 January 2014

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