A scheme to observe universal breathing mode and Berezinskii–Kosterlitz–Thouless phase transition in a two-dimensional photon gas

•A unique phase transition can be observed in a system of two-dimensional photon gas.•A universal jump in superfluid density can be used to experimentally detect it.•Possibility of observing a universal breathing mode in such a system.

A system of two-dimensional photon gas has recently been realized experimentally. We show that this setup can be used to observe a universal breathing mode of photon gas and a modification in the experimental setup would open up a possibility of observing the Berezinskii–Kosterlitz–Thouless (BKT) phase transition in such a system. Furthermore, the universal jump in the superfluid density of light in the output channel can be used as an unambiguous signature for the experimental verification of the BKT transition.