J. R. Leonard

Spontaneous coherence in a cold exciton gas

If bosonic particles are cooled down below the temperature of quantum degeneracy, they can spontaneously form a coherent state in which individual matter waves synchronize and combine. Spontaneous coherence of matter waves forms the basis of a number of fundamental phenomena in physics, including superconductivity, superfluidity and Bose–Einstein condensation. Spontaneous coherence is the key characteristic of condensation in momentum space. Excitons—bound pairs of electrons and holes—form a model system to explore the quantum physics of cold bosons in solids. Cold exciton gases can be realized in a system of indirect excitons, which can cool down below the temperature of quantum degeneracy owing to their long lifetimes. Here we report measurements of spontaneous coherence in a gas of indirect excitons. We found that spontaneous coherence of excitons emerges in the region of the macroscopically ordered exciton state and in the region of vortices of linear polarization. The coherence length in these regions is much larger than in a classical gas, indicating a coherent state with a much narrower than classical exciton distribution in momentum space, characteristic of a condensate. A pattern of extended spontaneous coherence is correlated with a pattern of spontaneous polarization, revealing the properties of a multicomponent coherent state. We also observed phase singularities in the coherent exciton gas. All these phenomena emerge when the exciton gas is cooled below a few kelvin.

Condensation of excitons in a trap.

Condensation is observed in a gas of indirect excitons confined in an electrostatic trap. Imaging and interferometric measurements detect that excitons condense at the trap bottom and exciton spontaneous coherence emerges with lowering temperature. Below a temperature of about 1 K, the direct signature of Bose-Einstein condensation, the extension of coherence over the entire cloud, is observed.

Optically controlled excitonic transistor

We present experimental proof of principle for all-optical excitonic routers and all-optical excitonic transistors with a high ratio between the excitonic signal at the optical drain and the excitonic signal due to the optical gate.

Spin Currents in a Coherent Exciton Gas

We report the observation of spin currents in a coherent gas of indirect excitons. The realized long-range spin currents originate from the formation of a coherent gas of bosonic pairs--a new mechanism to suppress the spin relaxation. The spin currents result in the appearance of a variety of polarization patterns, including helical patterns, four-leaf patterns, spiral patterns, bell patterns, and periodic patterns. We demonstrate control of the spin currents by a magnetic field. We also present a theory of coherent exciton spin transport that describes the observed exciton polarization patterns and indicates the trajectories of the spin currents.A.A. High, A.T. Hammack, J.R. Leonard, Sen Yang, L.V. Butov, T. Ostatnický, A.V. Kavokin, and A.C. Gossard Department of Physics, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0319, USA Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University in Prague, Ke Karlovu 3, 121 16 Prague, Czech Republic School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southampton, SO17 1BJ, Southampton, United Kingdom Materials Department, University of California at Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-5050, USA (Dated: January 13, 2013)

Spin transport of excitons.

Spin transport of indirect excitons in GaAs/AlGaAs coupled quantum wells was observed by measuring the spatially resolved circular polarization of the exciton emission. The exciton spin transport originates from the long spin relaxation time and long lifetime of the indirect excitons.We report on observation of the spin transport of spatially indirect excitons in GaAs/AlGaAs coupled quantum wells (CQW). Exciton spin transport over substantial distances, up to several micrometers in the present work, is achieved due to orders of magnitude enhancement of the exciton spin relaxation time in CQW with respect to conventional quantum wells.

Transport of indirect excitons in a potential energy gradient

We create a potential energy gradient for indirect excitons using a shaped electrode and study exciton transport. We observe that indirect excitons are localized at low densities and travel along the ramp at high densities.

Nonlinear optical spectroscopy of indirect excitons in coupled quantum wells

Indirect excitons in coupled quantum wells are long-living quasiparticles, explored in the studies of collective quantum states. We demonstrate that, despite the extremely low oscillator strength, their spin and population dynamics can by addressed by time-resolved pump-probe spectroscopy. Our experiments make it possible to unravel and compare spin dynamics of direct excitons, indirect excitons, and residual free electrons in coupled quantum wells. Measured spin relaxation time of indirect excitons exceeds not only one of direct excitons but also one of free electrons by two orders of magnitude.

Ballistic spin transport in exciton gases

Traditional spintronics relies on spin transport by charge carriers, such as electrons in semiconductor crystals. The challenges for the realization of long-range electron spin transport include rapid spin relaxation due to electron scattering. Scattering and, in turn, spin relaxation can be effectively suppressed in excitonic devices where the spin currents are carried by electrically neutral bosonic quasiparticles: excitons or exciton-polaritons. They can form coherent quantum liquids that carry spins over macroscopic distances. The price to pay is a finite lifetime of the bosonic spin carriers. We present the theory of exciton ballistic spin transport which may be applied to a range of systems supporting bosonic spin transport, in particular to indirect excitons in coupled quantum wells. We describe the effect of spin-orbit interaction for the electron and the hole on the exciton spin, account for the Zeeman effect induced by external magnetic fields and long-range and short-range exchange splittings of the exciton resonances. We also consider exciton transport in the nonlinear regime and discuss the definitions of the exciton spin current, polarization current, and spin conductivity.

Excitation energy dependence of the exciton inner ring

We report on the excitation energy dependence of the inner ring in the exciton emission pattern. The contrast of the inner ring is found to decrease with lowering excitation energy. Excitation by light tuned to the direct exciton resonance is found to effectively suppress excitation-induced heating of indirect excitons and facilitate the realization of a cold and dense exciton gas. The excitation energy dependence of the inner ring is explained in terms of exciton transport and cooling.

Indirect excitons in a potential energy landscape created by a perforated electrode

We report on the principle and realization of an excitonic device: a ramp that directs the transport of indirect excitons down a potential energy gradient created by a perforated electrode at constant voltage. The device provides an experimental proof of principle for controlling exciton transport with electrode density gradients. We observed that the exciton transport distance along the ramp increases with increasing exciton density. This effect is explained in terms of disorder screening by repulsive exciton-exciton interactions.