Nonequilibrium Phase Transition in a Two-Dimensional Driven Open Quantum System

Year: 2015

Authors: Dagvadorj G., Fellows JM., Matyjaskiewicz S., Marchetti FM., Carusotto I., Szymanska MH.

Autors Affiliation: Univ Warwick, Dept Phys, Coventry CV4 7AL, W Midlands, England; Nomura Int Plc, Dept Risk Methodol, London EC4R 3AB, England; Univ Autonoma Madrid, Dept Fis Teor Mat Condensada, E-28049 Madrid, Spain; Univ Autonoma Madrid, Condensed Matter Phys Ctr IFIMAC, E-28049 Madrid, Spain; Univ Trento, INO CNR BEC Ctr, I-38123 Povo, Italy; Univ Trento, Dipartimento Fis, I-38123 Povo, Italy; UCL, Dept Phys & Astron, London WC1E 6BT, England.

Abstract: The Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless mechanism, in which a phase transition is mediated by the proliferation of topological defects, governs the critical behavior of a wide range of equilibrium two-dimensional systems with a continuous symmetry, ranging from spin systems to superconducting thin films and two-dimensional Bose fluids, such as liquid helium and ultracold atoms. We show here that this phenomenon is not restricted to thermal equilibrium, rather it survives more generally in a dissipative highly nonequilibrium system driven into a steady state. By considering a quantum fluid of polaritons of an experimentally relevant size, in the so-called optical parametric oscillator regime, we demonstrate that it indeed undergoes a phase transition associated with a vortex binding-unbinding mechanism. Yet, the exponent of the power-law decay of the first-order correlation function in the (algebraically) ordered phase can exceed the equilibrium upper limit: this shows that the ordered phase of driven-dissipative systems can sustain a higher level of collective excitations before the order is destroyed by topological defects. Our work suggests that the macroscopic coherence phenomena, observed recently in interacting two-dimensional light-matter systems, result from a nonequilibrium phase transition of the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless rather than the Bose-Einstein condensation type.

Journal/Review: PHYSICAL REVIEW X

Volume: 5 (4)      Pages from: 41028-1  to: 41028-9

More Information: We thank J. Keeling for stimulating discussions. M. H. S. acknowledges support from EPSRC (Grants No. EP/I028900/2 and No. EP/K003623 /2), F. M. M. from the programs Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (No. MAT2011-22997) and Comunidad Autonoma de Madrid (No. S-2009/ESP-1503), and I. C. from ERC through the QGBE grant and from the Autonomous Province of Trento, partly through the project On silicon chip quantum optics for quantum computing and secure communications (SiQuro).
KeyWords: Bose-einstein Condensation; Semiconductor Microcavities; Superfluid Transition; Exciton-polaritons; Films; Gas
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevX.5.041028

Citations: 80
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