Formation of an exciton polariton condensate: thermodynamic versus kinetic regimes

We measure the polariton distribution function and the condensation threshold versus the photon-exciton detuning and the lattice temperature in a CdTe microcavity under nonresonant pumping. The results are reproduced by simulations using semiclassical Boltzmann equations. At negative detuning we find a kinetic condensation regime: the distribution is not thermal and the threshold is governed by the relaxation kinetics. At positive detuning, the distribution becomes thermal and the threshold is governed by the thermodynamic parameters of the system. Both regimes are a manifestation of polariton lasing, whereas only the latter is related to Bose-Einstein condensation defined as an equilibrium phase transition.