arXiv subjects

Kirk Baldwin

Publications and source records attributed to Kirk Baldwin.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Temporal hopping dynamics in exciton-polariton condensation

Polariton condensates provide a versatile platform for exploring non-equilibrium phase transitions and collective phenomena in open quantum systems. Near the condensation threshold, these systems are particularly sensitive to fluctuations and instabilities, which can strongly influence the condensate formation. Using optical trapping and homodyne detection, we directly access the photon statistics and second-order correlation function $g^{(2)}(0)$ of the condensate. We show that polariton condensation near the threshold is not a purely static transition, but instead undergoes a dynamical regime characterized by stochastic hopping between condensed and non-condensed states. These intermittent dynamics are accompanied by a gradual reduction of $g^{(2)}(0)$ towards unity, revealing the progressive build-up of coherence even in the presence of strong temporal fluctuations. Numerical simulations, based on a stochastic Truncated Wigner description of the driven-dissipative polariton field, reproduce these dynamics and capture the essential role of noise and reservoir interactions. This work demonstrates that the observed temporal hopping is an intrinsic feature of polariton condensation, providing a dynamical perspective that goes beyond static descriptions of the condensation phase transition.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2026

Controlled Switching of Bose-Einstein Condensation in a Mixture of Two Species of Polaritons

We report temperature-dependent switching between lower and upper polariton condensation in a GaAs/AlGaAs microcavity when both of these species have comparable populations in a mixture. Using angle-resolved photoluminescence, we observe that at low temperatures, condensation occurs in the lower polariton branch, while at elevated temperatures, the upper polariton branch can become favored. At an intermediate temperature, we observe instability in the condensate formation, characterized by metastable correlations of the fluctuations in intensity and linewidth of the lower and upper polariton branches.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2025

Mirror-mediated long-range coupling and robust phase locking of spatially separated exciton-polariton condensates

Lattice arrays are valuable simulators for complex mathematical problems, but physical systems typically allow only short-range coupling. We demonstrate a method for independently tunable, long-range interactions between polariton condensates in two-dimensional lattices by using vertical emission and external imaging to couple arbitrary sites. Two geometrically isolated condensates are phase-locked without planar coupling, verified via phase-resolved interferometry. Analytical modeling reveals mechanisms for robust coherence. The mirror-based scheme, free of cameras or modulators, offers a pure, high-bandwidth analogt element. Extension to dense graphs via segmented micro-mirrors is limited only by imaging optics, enabling scalable, energy-efficient polaritonic hardware for neuromorphic computation.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

Strong coupling of polaritons at room temperature in a GaAs/AlGaAs structure

We report direct measurement of the dispersion relation of polaritons in GaAs/AlGaAs microcavity structures at room temperature, which clearly shows that the polaritons are in the strong coupling limit. The Rabi splitting of the polariton states decreases as the polariton gas increases in density, but even when the polariton gas becomes a coherent, Bose-condensate-like state, the polaritons retain a strong exciton component, as seen in the nonlinear energy shift of the light emission. This opens up the possibility of polaritonic devices at room temperature in a material system which can be grown with very high quality and uniformity.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2025

Ultrafast electrical control of dipolariton-based optical circuits with a few femto-joul per bit power consumption

The next generation of photonic circuits will require programmable, ultrafast, and energy-efficient components on a scalable platform for quantum and neuromorphic computing. Here, we present ultrafast electrical control of highly nonlinear light-matter hybrid quasi-particles, called waveguide exciton-dipolaritons, with extremely low power consumption. Our device performs as an optical transistor with a GHz-rate electrical modulation at a record-low total energy consumption $\sim$3 fJ/bit and a compact active area of down to 25 $\mu$m$^2$. This work establishes waveguide-dipolariton platforms for scalable, electrically reconfigurable, ultra-low power photonic circuits for both classical and quantum computing and communication.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2024

Bose-Hubbard simulator with long-range hopping

Enriching condensed-matter systems with quantum optical phenomena currently drives intense research efforts, particularly to introduce collective quantum correlations. Here we access this paradigm, by confining dipolar excitons in a nanoscopic lattice where long-range hopping, and nearest-neighbour dipolar repulsions, dress the Bose-Hubbard Hamiltonian. Long-range hopping is evidenced by the spontaneous buildup of many-body sub-radiance, signalled by an algebraic slowdown of excitons radiative dissipation. In addition, we observe a threshold increase of temporal coherence for dipolar quantum solids only. It suggests that excitons condense in a single sub-radiant state for Mott-like phases. These combine then spatial order and collectively extended coherence, in a single degree of freedom. Our study unveils that nanoscopic exciton arrays provide a unique platform to design new frontiers of strongly-correlated lattice models with long-range correlations.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2024

Quantum coherence of a long-lifetime exciton-polariton condensate

In recent years, quantum information science has made significant progress, leading to a multitude of quantum protocols for the most diverse applications. States carrying resources such as quantum coherence are a key component for these protocols. In this study, we optimize the quantum coherence of a nonresonantly excited exciton-polariton condensate of long living polaritons by minimizing the condensate's interaction with the surrounding reservoir of excitons and free carriers. By combining experimental phase space data with a displaced thermal state model, we observe how quantum coherence builds up as the system is driven above the condensation threshold. Our findings demonstrate that a spatial separation between the condensate and the reservoir enhances the state's maximum quantum coherence directly beyond the threshold. These insights pave the way for integrating polariton systems into hybrid quantum devices and advancing applications in quantum technologies.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Bose-Einstein condensation of polaritons at room temperature in a GaAs/AlGaAs structure

We report the canonical properties of Bose-Einstein condensation of polaritons, seen previously in many low-temperature experiments, at room temperature in a GaAs/AlGaAs structure. These effects include a nonlinear energy shift of the polaritons, showing that they are not non-interacting photons, and dramatic line narrowing due to coherence, giving coherent emission with spectral width of 0.24 meV at room temperature with no external stabilization. This opens up the possibility of room temperature nonlinear optical devices based on polariton condensation.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2024

Measurement of exciton fraction of microcavity exciton-polaritons using transfer-matrix modeling

We present a careful calibration of the exciton fraction of polaritons in high-$Q$ ($\sim 300,000$), long-lifetime ($\sim 300$ ps), GaAs/AlGaAs microcavities.This is a crucial parameter for many-body theories which include the polariton-polariton interactions.It is much harder to establish this number in high-$Q$ structures compared to low-$Q$ structures, because the upper polariton is nearly invisible in high-$Q$ cavities.We present a combination of photoluminescence, photoluminescence excitation, and reflectivity measurements to highly constrain the fit model, and compare the results of this model to the results from low-$Q$ structures.We present a fitted curve of exciton fraction as a function of the lower polariton energy for multiple samples which have been used in prior experiments.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Exciton-polariton ring Josephson junction

Macroscopic coherence in quantum fluids allows the observation of interference effects in their wavefunctions, and enables applications such as superconducting quantum interference devices based on Josephson tunneling. The Josephson effect manifests in both fermionic and bosonic systems, and has been well studied in superfluid helium and atomic Bose-Einstein condensates. In exciton-polariton condensates - that offer a path to integrated semiconductor platforms - creating weak links in ring geometries has so far remained challenging. In this work, we realize a Josephson junction in a polariton ring condensate. Using optical control of the barrier, we induce net circulation around the ring and demonstrate both superfluid-hydrodynamic and the Josephson regime characterized by a sinusoidal tunneling current. Our theory in terms of the free-energy landscapes explains the appearance of these regimes using experimental values. These results show that weak links in ring condensates can be explored in optical integrated circuits and hold potential for room-temperature applications.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

Superlattice quantum solid of dipolar excitons

We study dipolar excitons confined at 330 mK in a square electrostatic lattice of a GaAs double quantum well. In the dipolar occupation blockade regime, at 3/2 filling, we evidence that excitons form a face-centred superlattice quantum solid. This phase is realised with high purity across 36 lattice sites, in a regime where the excitons mean interaction energy exceeds the depth of the lattice confinement. The superlattice solid then closely relates to Wigner crystals.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2023

Critical fluctuations in a confined driven-dissipative quantum condensate

Phase fluctuations determine the low-energy properties of quantum condensates. However, at the condensation threshold, both density and phase fluctuations are relevant. While strong emphasis has been given to the investigation of phase fluctuations, which dominate the physics of the quantum system away from the critical point -- number fluctuations have been much less explored, even in thermal equilibrium. In this work, we report experimental observation and theoretical description of fluctuations in a circularly-confined non-equilibrium Bose-Einstein condensate of polaritons near the condensation threshold. We observe critical fluctuations, which combine the number fluctuations of a single-mode condensate state and competition between different states. The latter are analogous to mode hopping in photon lasers. Our theoretical analysis indicates that this phenomenon is of a quantum character, while classical noise of the pump is not sufficient to explain the experiments. The manifestation of a critical quantum state competition unlocks new possibilities for the study of condensate formation while linking to practical realizations in photonic lasers.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2023

Coherence measurements of polaritons in thermal equilibrium reveal a power law for two-dimensional condensates

We have created a spatially homogeneous polariton condensate in thermal equilibrium, up to very high condensate fraction. Under these conditions, we have measured the coherence as a function of momentum, and determined the total coherent fraction of this boson system from very low density up to density well above the condensation transition. These measurements reveal a consistent power law for the coherent fraction as a function of the total density over nearly three orders of its magnitude. The same power law is seen in numerical simulations solving the two-dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii equation for the equilibrium coherence. This power law has not been predicted by prior analytical theories.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2022

Dual density waves with neutral and charged dipolar excitons of GaAs bilayers

Strongly correlated quantum particles in lattice potentials are the building blocks for a large variety of quantum insulators, for instance Mott phases and density waves breaking the lattice symmetry. Such collective states are accessible to bosonic and fermionic systems. To expand further the spectrum of accessible quantum matter phases, mixing both species is theoretically appealing, since density order then competes with phase separation. Here we manipulate such Bose-Fermi mixture by confining neutral (boson-like) and charged (fermion-like) dipolar excitons in an artificial square lattice of a GaAs bilayer. At unitary lattice filling, strong inter- and intra-species interactions stabilise insulating phases when the fraction of charged excitons is around (1/3, 1/2, 2/3). We evidence that dual Bose-Fermi density waves are then realised, with species ordered in alternating stripes. Our observations highlight that dipolar excitons allow for controlled implementations of Bose-Fermi Hubbard models extended by off-site interactions.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2021

Mott insulator of strongly interacting two-dimensional excitons

In condensed-matter physics, electronic Mott insulators have triggered considerable research due to their intricate relation with high-temperature superconductors. However, unlike atomic systems for which Mott phases were recently shown for both bosonic and fermionic species, in the solid-state the fingerprint of a Mott insulator implemented with bosons is yet to be found. Here we unveil such signature by exploring the Bose-Hubbard hamiltonian using semiconductor excitons confined in two-dimensional lattices. We emphasise the regime where on-site interactions are comparable to the energy separation between lattice confined states. We then observe that Mott phases are accessible, with at most two excitons uniformly filling lattice sites. The technology introduced here allows us to program on-demand the geometry of the lattice confining excitons. This versatility, combined with the long-range nature of dipolar interactions between excitons, provide a new route to explore many-body phases spontaneously breaking the lattice symmetry.

cond-mat.quant-gas↗

arXiv2021

Correlated double-electron additions at the edge of a two-dimensional electronic system

We create laterally large and low disorder quantum well based quantum dots to study single electron additions to two dimensional electron systems (2DES). Electrons tunnel into these dots across an AlGaAs tunnel barrier from a single $n+$ electrode. Using single-electron capacitance spectroscopy in a dilution refrigerator, we identify capacitance peaks for the addition of the first electron to a dot and record subsequent peaks in the addition spectrum up to occupancies of thousands of electrons. Here, we report two remarkable phenomena that occur in the filling factor range $ν=2$ to $ν=5$ while selectively probing electron additions to the edge states of the dot: (1) Coulomb blockade peaks arise from the entrance of two electrons rather than one; (2) at and near filling factor 5/2 and at fixed gate voltage, these double-height peaks appear uniformly with a periodicity of $h/2e$. At other filling factors in the range $ν=2$ to $ν=5$, the mean periodicity for the twice-height electron peaks remains $h/2e$, but the twice-height peaks are instead further bunched into pairs of double-height peaks, with pairs spaced $h/e$ apart. The unusual two-electron Coulomb blockade peaks suggest a novel pair tunneling effect that involves electron correlations that arise in the quantum dot, with spectra at $ν=5/2$ identical to those previously only seen in superconducting dots.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2021

Transport in helical Luttinger liquids in the fractional quantum Hall regime

Domain walls in fractional quantum Hall ferromagnets are gapless helical one-dimensional channels formed at the boundaries of topologically distinct quantum Hall (QH) liquids. Naïvely, these helical domain walls (hDWs) constitute two counter-propagating chiral states with opposite spins. Coupled to an s-wave superconductor, helical channels are expected to lead to topological superconductivity with high order non-Abelian excitations. Here we investigate transport properties of hDWs in the $ν=2/3$ fractional QH regime. Experimentally we found that current carried by hDWs is substantially smaller than the prediction of the naïve model. Luttinger liquid theory of the system reveals redistribution of currents between quasiparticle charge, spin and neutral modes, and predicts the reduction of the hDW current. Inclusion of spin-non-conserving tunneling processes reconciles theory with experiment. The theory confirms emergence of spin modes required for the formation of fractional topological superconductivity.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2020

A Microscopic Lattice for Two-dimensional Dipolar Excitons

We report a two-dimensional artificial lattice for dipolar excitons confined in a GaAs double quantum well. Exploring the regime of large fillings per lattice site, we verify that the lattice depth competes with the magnitude of excitons repulsive dipolar interactions to control the degree of localisation in the lattice potential. Moreover, we show that dipolar excitons radiate a narrow-band photoluminescence, with a spectral width of a few hundreds of micro-eV at 340 mK, in both localised and delocalised regimes. This makes our device suitable for explorations of dipolar excitons quasi-condensation in a periodic potential.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗