Abstract
We consider a dynamical phase transition induced by a short optical pulse in a system prone to thermodynamical instability. We address the case of pumping to excitons whose density contributes directly to the order parameter. To describe both thermodynamic and dynamic effects on equal footing, we adopt a view of the excitonic insulator for the phase transition and suggest a formation of the Bose condensate for the pumped excitons. The work is motivated by experiments in donor–acceptor organic compounds with a neutral- ionic phase transition coupled to the spontaneous lattice dimerization and to charge transfer excitons. The double nature of the ensemble of excitons leads to an intricate time evolution, in particular, to macroscopic quantum oscillations from the interference between the Bose condensate of excitons and the ground state of the excitonic insulator. The coupling of excitons and the order parameter also leads to self-trapping of their wave function, akin to self-focusing in optics. The locally enhanced density of excitons can surpass a critical value to trigger the phase transformation, even if the mean density is below the required threshold. The system is stratified in domains that evolve through dynamical phase transitions and sequences of merging. The new circumstances in experiments and theory bring to life, once again, some remarkable inventions made by L.V. Keldysh.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Electronic States and Phases Induced by Electric or Optical Impacts, Ed. by S. Brazovskii and N. Kirova, Eur. Phys. J. Spec. Top. 222 (5) (2013).
5th International Conference on Photoinduced Phase Transitions and Cooperative Phenomena. http://pipt5.ijs.si/
Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Photoinduced Phase Transitions and Cooperative Phenomena, Ed. by T. Luty and A. Lewanowicz, Acta Phys. Polon. A 121 (2012).
Photoinduced Phase Transitions, Ed. by K. Nasu (World Scientific, Singapore, 2004).
L. V. Keldysh and A. N. Kozlov, Sov. Phys. JETP 27, 521 (1968).
C. Comte and P. Nozèeres, J. de Phys. 43, 1069 (1982).
P. B. Littlewood, P. R. Eastham, J. M. J. Keeling, et al., J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 16, S3597 (2004).
D. Jérome, T. M. Rice, and W. Kohn, Phys. Rev. 158, 462 (1967)
W. Kohn, in Many Body Physics, Ed. by C. de Witt and R. Balian (Gordon and Breach, New York, 1968), p. 1.
R. S. Knox, Theory of Excitons, in Solid State Physics, Ed. by F. Seitz and D. Turnbull, Suppl. 5 (Academic, New York, 1963).
J. des Cloizeaux, J. Phys. Chem. Sol. 26, 259 (1965).
L. V. Keldysh and Yu. V. Kopaev, Sov. Phys. Solid State 6, 2219 (1965).
R. R. Guseinov and L. V. Keldysh, Sov. Phys. JETP 36, 1193 (1973).
A. N. Kozlov and L. A. Maksimov, Sov. Phys. JETP 21, 790 (1965)
A. N. Kozlov and L. A. Maksimov, Sov. Phys. JETP 22, 889 (1966)
A. N. Kozlov and L. A. Maksimov, Sov. Phys. JETP 23, 88 (1966).
B. I. Halperin and T. M. Rice, Rev. Mod. Phys. 40, 755 (1968); Solid State Phys. 21, 115 (1968).
M. Combescot and P. Nozières, J. Phys. C 5, 2369 (1972).
Th. Pillo, J. Hayoz, H. Berger, et al., Phys. Rev. B 61, 16213 (2000)
D. Qian, D. Hsieh, L. Wray, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 117007 (2007)
J. F. Zhao, H. W. Ou, G. Wu, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 146401 (2007)
H. Cercellier, C. Monney, F. Clerc, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 146403 (2007)
S. Hellmann, T. Rohwer, M. Kallne, et al., Eur. Phys. J. Web Conf. 41, 03022 (2013).
Y. Wakisaka, T. Sudayama, K. Takubo, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 026402 (2009)
T. Kaneko, T. Toriyama, T. Konishi, and Y. Ohta, J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. 400, 032035 (2012).
P. Wachter, B. Bucher, and J. Malar, Phys. Rev. B 69, 094502 (2004).
N. B. Brandt and S. M. Chudinov, J. Low Temp. Phys. 8, 339 (1972).
N. B. Brandt, S. M. Chudinov, and V. G. Karavaev, Sov. Phys. JETP 43, 1198 (1976).
S. Brazovskii, Sov. Phys. JETP 35, 433 (1972).
S. Brazovskii, Sov. Phys. JETP 37, 361 (1973).
K. Hannewald, S. Glutsch, and F. Bechstedt, J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 13, 275 (2001).
S. Glutsch and R. Zimmermann, Phys. Rev. B 45, 5857 (1992).
T. Östreich and K. Schönhammer, Z. Phys. B 91, 189 (1993).
S. Brazovskii and N. Kirova, J. Supercond. Nov. Magn. 27, 1009 (2014).
T. Yi, N. Kirova, and S. Brazovskii, Physica B 460, 73 (2015), arXiv:1501.06217.
E. I. Rashba, in Excitons, Ed. by E. I. Rashba and M. D. Sturge (North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1982), p. 543
E. I. Rashba, in Excitons, Ed. by E. I. Rashba and M. D. Sturge (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1987), p. 273.
M. A. Krivoglaz, Sov. Phys. Usp. 16, 856 (1974).
S. Koshihara, Y. Takahashi, and H. Sakai, J. Phys. Chem. B 103, 2592 (1999)
M. Gonokami and S. Koshihara, J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 75, 011001 (2006).
H. Okamoto, in Molecular Electronic and Related Materials–Control and Probe with Light (Transworld Research Network, Kerala, India, 2010), p. 59
H. Uemura and H. Okamoto, Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 258302 (2010)
T. Miyamoto, H. Uemura, and H. Okamoto 81, 073703 (2012).
K. Yonemitsu, Crystals 2, 56 (2012).
S. Ishihara, J. Ohara, and Y. Kanamori, Eur. Phys. J. Spec. Top. 222, 1125 (2013).
R. Yusupov, T. Mertelj, V. V. Kabanov, et al., Nature Phys. 6, 681 (2010).
S. Brazovskii, J. Supercond. Nov. Mag. 28, 1349 (2015), arXiv:1411.3187v1.
L. Stojchevska, I. Vaskivskyi, T. Mertelj, et al., Science 344, 177 (2014).
K. Kobayashi, S. Horiuchi, R. Kumai, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 237601 (2012).
G. D’Avino, A. Girlo, A. Painelli, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 156407 (2007).
N. G. Berloff and J. Keeling, Physics of Quantum Fluids: New Trends and Hot Topics in Atomic and Polariton Condensates, Ed. by A. Bramati and M. Modugno (Springer Science and Business Media, New York, 2013).
L. V. Keldysh, in Electron–Hole Droplets in Semiconductors, Ed. by K. D. Jeffries and L. V. Keldysh (North-Holland, Amsterdam, 1987), p. 7.
P. Nozières and D. Saint James, J. de Phys. 43, 1133 (1982).
T. Mitani, G. Saito, Y. Tokura, and T. Koda, Phys. Rev. Lett. 53, 842 (1984).
N. Nagaosa, J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 55, 3488 (1986)
N. Nagaosa, Solid State Commun. 51, 179 (1986).
S. Brazovskii and N. Kirova, Synthetic Metals (2016, in press); arXiv:1512.04282.
S. G. Tikhodeev, Sov. Phys. JETP 70, 380 (1990).
M. Wouters and I. Carusotto, Phys. Rev. Lett. 99, 140402 (2007).
M. H. Szymanska, J. Keeling, and P. B. Littlewood, Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 230602 (2006).
C. W. Gardiner, J. R. Anglin, and T. I. A. Fudge, J. Phys. B 35, 1555 (2002).
Yu. M. Kagan, B. V. Svistunov, and G. V. Shlyapnikov, Sov. Phys. JETP 75, 387 (1992).
Yu. Kagan and B. V. Svistunov, Sov. Phys. JETP 78, 187 (1994).
Yu. M. Kagan and B. V. Svistunov, Phys. Rev. Lett. 79, 3331 (1997).
N. G. Berloff and B. V. Svistunov, Phys. Rev. A 66, 013603 (2002).
D. V. Semikoz and I. I. Tkachev, Phys. Rev. D 55, 489 (1997).
G. Schwiete and A. M. Finkelstein, Phys. Rev. A 88, 053611 (2013).
S. Brazovskii and N. Kirova, Phys. Rev. B, submitted.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Contribution for the JETP special issue in honor of L.V. Keldysh’s 85th birthday
The article is published in the original.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Brazovskii, S., Kirova, N. The excitonic insulator route through a dynamical phase transition induced by an optical pulse. J. Exp. Theor. Phys. 122, 412–425 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1134/S106377611603002X
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S106377611603002X