Optical signature of quantum coherence in fully dark exciton condensates

Abstract

We predict that the collision of two fully dark exciton condensates produces interference fringes which are not only dark but also bright. So, quite surprisingly, the collision of coherent states made of dark excitons produces light. This remarkable effect, which is many-body in essence, comes from the composite boson nature of excitons, through the fermion exchanges they can have which transform dark states into bright states. The possibility of optically detecting quantum coherence in a regime where the system is hidden by its total darkness, was up to now considered as hopeless.