Laser Operation and Bose-Einstein Condensation: Analogies and Differences
Laser Operation and Bose-Einstein Condensation: Analogies and Differences
After reviewing the interpretation of laser operation as a nonequilibrium Bose-Einstein condensation phase transition, we illustrate the novel features arising from the nonequilibrium nature of photon and polariton Bose-Einstein condensates recently observed in experiments. We then propose a quantitative criterion to experimentally assess the equilibrium versus nonequilibrium nature of a …