Mainz 2026 – scientific programme

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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik

Q 18: Photon BEC

Q 18.3: Talk

Tuesday, March 3, 2026, 11:30–11:45, P 4

Kennard-Stepanov relation connecting absorption and emission in two-species xenon-noble gas mixtures — •Eric Boltersdorf, Thilo vom Hövel, Frank Vewinger, and Martin Weitz — Institute of Applied Physics, Bonn, Germany

Photons confined in a dye-filled microcavity can exhibit Bose-Einstein condensation upon thermalization through repeated absorption and (re-)emission processes on the dye molecules. This has been experimentally demonstrated for photons in the visible spectral regime in 2010. The most important prerequisite for the dye molecules to be a suitable thermalization mediator is the fulfillment of the so-called Kennard-Stepanov relation, a thermodynamic, Boltzmann-like scaling law connecting the absorption and emission lineshapes. In the present work, an experimental approach is investigated to realize Bose-Einstein condensation of vacuum-ultraviolet (100 nm - 200 nm; VUV) photons via repeated absorption and (re-)emission cycles between the 5p⁶ ground state and the 5p⁵6s (J = 1) excited state of xenon-noble gas excimer molecules in dense gaseous ensembles (pressure of up to 100 bar). Here, we present experimental data giving strong evidence for a Kennard-Stepanov scaling of photons in these dense xenon-noble gas ensembles.

Keywords: Vacuum-Ultraviolet; Kennard-Stepanov relation; Spectroscopy; High pressure gases; Bose-Einstein condensation