Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 17, 2026

Orientational Transition in a Liquid Crystal Triggered by the Thermodynamic Growth of Interfacial Wetting Sheets
Published on: May 15, 2017
Spontaneous coherent phase transition of polaritons in CdTe microcavities
Maxime Richard1, Jacek Kasprzak, Robert Romestain
1CEA-CNRS-UJF group Nanophysique et semiconducteurs, Laboratoire de Spectrométrie Physique (CNRS UMR5588), Université J. Fourier-Grenoble, BP87, 38402 St Martin d'Hères, France.
Abstract:
We report on evidence for polariton condensation out of a reservoir of incoherent polaritons. Polariton population and first-order coherence are investigated by spectroscopic imaging of the far-field emission of a CdTe-based microcavity under nonresonant pumping. With increasing pumping power, stimulated emission with thresholdlike behavior and spectral narrowing is observed in the strong exciton-photon coupling regime. We show that it comes from a narrow ring in k space, exhibiting enhanced spatial and angular coherence at the stimulation onset.
Related Concept Videos
Phase Transitions
Phase Transitions
Dielectric Polarization in a Capacitor
Phase Transitions: Melting and Freezing
Phase Transitions: Vaporization and Condensation
Standing Waves in a Cavity

