2015/07/27 by David W. Snoke, Andrew J. Daley, Snoke, David W. +1 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #Mechanical and Optical Resonators #Quantum Gases (cond-mat.quant-gas) #Quantum and electron transport phenomena #Strong Light-Matter Interactions #cond-mat.quant-gas
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1507.07456
23 pages, 3 figures. To appear in Universal Themes of Bose-Einstein Condensation, N. Proukakis, D. Snoke, and P. Littlewood, eds. (Cambridge University Press, 2016)
arxiv created 2015/07/27 · openalex publication_date 2015/07/27 · arxiv updated 2015/07/28 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The question of whether Bose-Einstein condensation involves spontaneous symmetry breaking is surprisingly controversial. We review the theory of spontaneous symmetry breaking in ferromagnets, compare it to the theory of symmetry breaking in condensates, and discuss the different viewpoints on the correspondence to experiments. These viewpoints include alternative perspectives in which we can treat condensates with fixed particle numbers, and where coherence arises from measurements. This question relates to whether condensates of quasiparticles such as polaritons can be viewed as "real" condensates.