Quantum droplets of light in semiconductor microcavities

Quantum droplets are dilute self-bound configurations of bosons that result from the balance between a mean-field attraction and a repulsion induced by quantum fluctuations. Such droplets have been successfully realized in cold atomic gases and represent a signature of their quantum nature. Here, we...

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Auteurs principaux: Caldara, Matteo (Auteur) , Bleu, Olivier (Auteur) , Marchetti, Francesca Maria (Auteur) , Levinsen, Jesper (Auteur) , Parish, Meera M. (Auteur)
Format: Article (Journal)
Langue:anglais
Publié: 16 March, 2026
In: Physical review letters
Year: 2026, Volume: 136, Numéro: 11, Pages: 1-9
ISSN:1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/qbz5-df6g
Accès en ligne:Resolving-System, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1103/qbz5-df6g
Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/qbz5-df6g
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Notes sur l'auteur:Matteo Caldara, Olivier Bleu, Francesca Maria Marchetti, Jesper Levinsen, and Meera M. Parish
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Résumé:Quantum droplets are dilute self-bound configurations of bosons that result from the balance between a mean-field attraction and a repulsion induced by quantum fluctuations. Such droplets have been successfully realized in cold atomic gases and represent a signature of their quantum nature. Here, we predict the existence of a similar droplet phase in a solid-state system, involving polaritons formed from the strong coupling between excitons (bound electron-hole pairs) and photons in a semiconductor microcavity. We consider a spin mixture of exciton-polaritons near a biexciton Feshbach resonance, which allows one to tune the interspecies interactions to be attractive and comparable in magnitude to the intraspecies repulsion. We find that self-bound quantum droplets are achievable for realistic parameters in atomically thin semiconductors, and that they can be detected via their excitation spectrum and spatial profile. This exotic phase could potentially lead to polariton condensation at lower thresholds and it opens an alternative avenue to achieve the long-sought quantum polaritonic regime.
Description:Gesehen am 22.07.2026
Description matérielle:Online Resource
ISSN:1079-7114
DOI:10.1103/qbz5-df6g