Hannover 2020 – scientific programme
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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik
Q 17: Quantum gases (Bosons) III
Q 17.5: Talk
Tuesday, March 10, 2020, 15:00–15:15, e214
Spectroscopy of dense xenon ensembles - Towards Bose-Einstein condensation of vacuum-ultraviolet photons — •Thilo vom Hövel, Christian Wahl, Frank Vewinger, and Martin Weitz — Institut für Angewandte Physik, Universität Bonn, Wegelerstr. 8, D-53115 Bonn
Coherent light sources cover wide ranges of the optical spectrum. In the vacuum-ultraviolet regime (VUV, 100 - 200 nm), however, constructing a laser is difficult, as excited state lifetimes scale as ω3, resulting in the need of very high pump powers to achieve population inversion. We propose an experimental approach for the realization of a coherent light source in the VUV based on Bose-Einstein condensation of photons. In our group, Bose-Einstein condensation of visible photons is investigated using a liquid dye solution as thermalization medium in a wavelength-sized optical microcavity, the latter providing a non-trivial low-energy ground state the photons condense into.
Conveying these principles into the VUV, a replacement for the dye molecules has to be found, as they dissociate under VUV irradiation. We consider xenon atoms a potential candidate, with absorption re-emission cycles on the transition from the ground state (5p6) to the lowest electronically excited state (5p56s) for thermalization. We here report on the results of current spectroscopic measurements, investigating VUV line profiles of dense xenon ensembles. Both absorption and emission profiles are presented at pressures up to 180 bar. We also report on VUV spectral profiles of xenon recorded in the liquid phase.