Time-resolved lunimescence experiments have demonstrated degenerate quantum statistics of photo-produced excitons in the semiconductor Copper (I) Oxide. They have found that during intense laser excitation, the excitonic gas evolves in time along the phase boundary for Bose-Einstein condensation. They propose a number of experiments to characterize this quantum-saturated gas and attempt to produce the condensate. They will study how the degenerate statistics modify the kinetic energy relaxation of the excitons. Spatially resolved luminescence experiments will examine an unexplained rapid expansion of the degenerate gas. The high-resolution techniques they propose to develop will allow a broader understanding of exciton-exciton and exciton-phonon processes in Copper (I) Oxide and other semiconductors.
