Recently a new type of system exhibiting spontaneous coherence has emerged -- the exciton-polariton condensate. Exciton-polaritons (or polaritons for short) are bosonic quasiparticles that exist inside semiconductor microcavities, consisting of a sup
erposition of an exciton and a cavity photon. Above a threshold density the polaritons macroscopically occupy the same quantum state, forming a condensate. The lifetime of the polaritons are typically comparable to or shorter than thermalization times, making them possess an inherently non-equilibrium nature. Nevertheless, they display many of the features that would be expected of equilibrium Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs). The non-equilibrium nature of the system raises fundamental questions of what it means for a system to be a BEC, and introduces new physics beyond that seen in other macroscopically coherent systems. In this review we focus upon several physical phenomena exhibited by exciton-polariton condensates. In particular we examine topics such as the difference between a polariton BEC, a polariton laser, and a photon laser, as well as physical phenomena such as superfluidity, vortex formation, BKT (Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless) and BCS (Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer) physics. We also discuss the physics and applications of engineered polariton structures.
Intensity interferometry, based on the Hanbury Brown-Twiss effect, is a simple and inexpensive method for optical interferometry at microarcsecond angular resolutions; its use in astronomy was abandoned in the 1970s because of low sensitivity. Motiva
ted by recent technical developments, we argue that the sensitivity of large modern intensity interferometers can be improved by factors up to approximately 25,000, corresponding to 11 photometric magnitudes, compared to the pioneering Narrabri Stellar Interferometer. This is made possible by (i) using avalanche photodiodes (APD) as light detectors, (ii) distributing the light received from the source over multiple independent spectral channels, and (iii) use of arrays composed of multiple large light collectors. Our approach permits the construction of large (with baselines ranging from few kilometers to intercontinental distances) optical interferometers at the cost of (very) long-baseline radio interferometers. Realistic intensity interferometer designs are able to achieve limiting R-band magnitudes as good as ~14, sufficient for spatially resolved observations of main-sequence O-type stars in the Magellanic Clouds. Multi-channel intensity interferometers can address a wide variety of science cases: (i) linear radii, effective temperatures, and luminosities of stars; (ii) mass-radius relationships of compact stellar remnants; (iii) stellar rotation; (iv) stellar convection and the interaction of stellar photospheres and magnetic fields; (v) the structure and evolution of multiple stars; (vi) direct measurements of interstellar distances; (vii) the physics of gas accretion onto supermassive black holes; and (viii) calibration of amplitude interferometers by providing a sample of calibrator stars.
We present high-resolution angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy study in conjunction with first principles calculations to investigate how the interaction of electrons with phonons in graphene is modified by the presence of Yb. We find that the
transferred charges from Yb to the graphene layer hybridize with the graphene $pi$ bands, leading to a strong enhancement of the electron-phonon interaction. Specifically, the electron-phonon coupling constant is increased by as much as a factor of 10 upon the introduction of Yb with respect to as grown graphene ($leq$0.05). The observed coupling constant constitutes the highest value ever measured for graphene and suggests that the hybridization between graphene and the adatoms might be a critical parameter in realizing superconducting graphene.
We observe quasi-long range coherence in a two-dimensional condensate of exciton-polaritons. Our measurements are the first to confirm that the spatial correlation algebraically decays with a slow power-law, whose exponent quantitatively behaves as p
redicted by the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless theory. The exciton-polaritons are created by non-resonant optical pumping of a micro-cavity sample with embedded GaAs quantum-wells at liquid helium temperature. Michelson interference is used to measure the coherence of the photons emitted by decaying exciton-polaritons.
We explore the exciton-polariton condensation in the two degenerate orbital states. In the honeycomb lattice potential, at the third band we have two degenerate vortex-antivortex lattice states at the inequivalent K and K-points. We have observed ene
rgetically degenerate condensates within the linewidth ~ 0.3 meV, and directly measured the vortex-antivortex lattice phase order of the order parameter. We have also observed the intensity anticorrelation between polariton condensates at the K- and K-points. We relate this intensity anticorrelation to the dynamical feature of polariton condensates induced by the stochastic relaxation from the common particle reservoir.
Dirac particles, massless relativistic entities, obey linear energy dispersions and hold important implication in particle physics. Recent discovery of Dirac fermions in condensed matter systems including graphene and topological insulators raises gr
eat interests to explore relativistic properties associated with Dirac physics in solid-state materials. In addition, there are stimulating research activities to engineer Dirac paricles to eludicte their physical properties in a controllable setting. One of the successful platforms is the ultracold atom-optical lattice system, whose dynamics can be manipulated in a clean environment. A microcavity exciton-polariton-lattice system provides an alternative route with an advantage of forming high-orbital condensation in non-equilibrium conditions, which enables to explore novel quantum orbital order in two dimensions. Here we directly map the liner dispersions near the Dirac points, the vertices of the first hexagonal Brillouin zone from exciton-polariton condensates trapped in a triangular lattice. The associated velocity values are ~ 0.9 - 2*10^8 cm/s, which are consistent with the theoretical estimate 1*10^8 cm/s with a 2 mu m-lattice constant. We envision that the exciton-polariton condensates in lattices would be a promising solid-state platform, where the system order parameter can be accesses in both real and momentum spaces. We furthermore explore unique phenomena revealing quantum bose nature such as superfluidity and distinct features analogous to quantum Hall effect pertinent to time-reversal symmetry.
Noble metals adopt close-packed structures at ambient pressure and rarely undergo structural transformation at high pressures. Platinum (Pt), in particular, is normally considered to be unreactive and is therefore not expected to form hydrides under
pressure. We predict that platinum hydride (PtH) has a lower enthalpy than its constituents solid Pt and molecular hydrogen at pressures above 21.5 GPa. We have calculated structural phase transitions from tetragonal to hexagonal close-packed or face-centered cubic (fcc) PtH between 70 and 80 GPa. Linear response calculations indicate that PtH is a superconductor at these pressures with a critical temperature of about 10--25 K. These findings help to shed light on recent observations of pressure-induced metallization and superconductivity in hydrogen-rich materials. We show that formation of fcc metal hydrides under pressure is common among noble metal hydrides and examine the possibility of superconductivity in these materials.
A positive definite even Hermitian lattice is called emph{even universal} if it represents all even positive integers. We introduce a method to get all even universal binary Hermitian lattices over imaginary quadratic fields $Q{-m}$ for all positive
square-free integers $m$ and we list optimal criterions on even universality of Hermitian lattices over $Q{-m}$ which admits even universal binary Hermitian lattices.
We will introduce a method to get all universal Hermitian lattices over imaginary quadratic fields over $mathbb{Q}(sqrt{-m})$ for all m. For each imaginary quadratic field $mathbb{Q}(sqrt{-m})$, we obtain a criterion on universality of Hermitian latt
ices: if a Hermitian lattice L represents 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 13,14 and 15, then L is universal. We call this the fifteen theorem for universal Hermitian lattices. Note that the difference between Conway-Schneebergers fifteen theorem and ours is the number 13.
Fluids in porous media are commonly studied with analytical or simulation methods, usually assuming that the host medium is rigid. By evaluating the substrates response (relaxation) to the presence of the fluid we assess the error inherent in that as
sumption. One application is a determination of the ground state of 3He in slit and cylindrical pores. With the relaxation, there results a much stronger cohesion than would be found for a rigid host. Similar increased binding effects of relaxation are found for classical fluids confined within slit pores or nanotube bundles.
