Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 19, 2025

Trapping of Micro Particles in Nanoplasmonic Optical Lattice
Published on: September 5, 2017
Bose-Einstein condensation of photons in microcavity plasmas
J L Figueiredo1, J T Mendonça1, H Terças1
1GoLP - Instituto de Plasmas e Fusão Nuclear, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal.
Abstract:
Bose-Einstein condensation of a finite number of photons propagating inside a plasma-filled microcavity is investigated. The nonzero chemical potential is provided by the electrons, which induces a finite photon mass and allows condensation to occur. We derive an equation that models the evolution of the photon-mode occupancies, with Compton scattering taken into account as the mechanism of thermalization. The kinetic evolution of the photon spectrum is solved numerically, and we find evidence of condensation down to nanosecond timescales for typical microplasma conditions, n_{e}∼10^{14}-10^{15}cm^{-3}. The critical temperature scales almost linearly with the number of photons, and we find high condensate fractions at microcavity-plasma temperatures, for experimentally achievable cavity lengths (100-500µm) and photon numbers (10^{10}-10^{12}).
Related Concept Videos
Photoelectric Effect
The Bohr Model
Atomic Emission Spectroscopy: Overview
The de Broglie Wavelength
Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy: Principle
The ions and electrons produced interact with the fluctuating magnetic field created by a water-cooled...
Emission Spectra

