University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Bose-Einstein condensation of excitons in cuprous oxide
Abstract
dc:descriptionFree excitons provide the only experimental system other than helium in which the behavior of particles with mass is known to follow Bose-Einstein statistics. I present experimental observations of the kinetic energy distribution of excitons in the direct-gap semiconductor Cu$\sb2$O, both the triplet orthoexciton state and the singlet paraexciton state. The density and temperature of the exciton gas closely follow the phase boundary for Bose-Einstein condensation. At the highest densities, the lower-lying paraexcitons take on an anomalous energy distribution with a sharp, high-energy edge. This odd distribution of particle energies may be associated with Bose-Einstein condensation into a state with nonzero momentum. Indeed, the excitons leave the region of their creation at supersonic velocities.
Degree
thesis:*- Name thesis:degree_name
- Ph.D.
- Level thesis:degree_level
- Dissertation
- Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
- Physics
- Grantor
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Year dc:date
- 2011
Author and committee
dc:creator, dc:contributor.*- Author dc:creator
-
- Snoke, David Wayne
- Contributors dc:contributor
-
- Wolfe, J.P.
Subjects
dc:subject × 1Rights
dc:rights- Statement dc:rights
-
- Copyright 1990 Snoke, David Wayne
- Language dc:language
- eng
Identifiers
dc:identifier.*- Identifier
-
(UMI)AAI9114419
AAI9114419 - OAI identifier oai:identifier
- oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/19465