Thermalization of a two-dimensional photonic gas in a ‘white wall’ photon box

Abstract

Bose-Einstein condensation, the macroscopic accumulation of bosonic particles in the energetic ground state below a critical temperature, has been demonstrated in several physical systems. The perhaps best known example of a bosonic gas, blackbody radiation, however exhibits no Bose-Einstein condensation at low temperatures. Instead of collectively occupying the lowest energy mode, the photons disappear in the cavity walls when the temperature is lowered - corresponding to a vanishing chemical potential. Here we report on evidence for a thermalised two-dimensional photon gas with freely adjustable chemical potential. Our experiment is based on a dye filled optical microresonator, acting as a 'white-wall' box for photons. Thermalisation is achieved in a photon number-conserving way by photon scattering off the dye-molecules, and the cavity mirrors both provide an effective photon mass and a confining potential - key prerequisites for the Bose-Einstein condensation of photons. As a striking example for the unusual system properties, we demonstrate a yet unobserved light concentration effect into the centre of the confining potential, an effect with prospects for increasing the efficiency of diffuse solar light collection.