Singly quantized vortices have already been observed in many systems, including the superfluid helium, Bose-Einstein condensates of dilute atomic gases, and condensates of exciton-polaritons in the ...solid state. Two-dimensional superfluids carrying spin are expected to demonstrate a different type of elementary excitations referred to as half-quantum vortices, characterized by a π rotation of the phase and a π rotation of the polarization vector when circumventing the vortex core. We detect half-quantum vortices in an exciton-polariton condensate by means of polarization-resolved interferometry, real-space spectroscopy, and phase imaging. Half-quantum vortices coexist with single-quantum vortices in our sample.
Coherent manipulation of spin ensembles is a key issue in the development of spintronics. In particular, multivalued spin switching may lead to new schemes of logic gating and memories. This ...phenomenon has been studied with atom vapours 30 years ago, but is still awaited in the solid state. Here, we demonstrate spin multistability with microcavity polaritons in a trap. Owing to the spinor nature of these light-matter quasiparticles and to the anisotropy of their interactions, we can optically control the spin state of a single confined level by tuning the excitation power, frequency and polarization. First, we realize high-efficiency power-dependent polarization switching. Then, at constant excitation power, we evidence polarization hysteresis and determine the conditions for realizing multivalued spin switching. Finally, we demonstrate an unexpected regime, where our system behaves as a high-contrast spin trigger. These results open new pathways to the development of advanced spintronics devices and to the realization of multivalued logic circuits.
We report on the observation of spontaneous coherent oscillations in a microcavity polariton bosonic Josephson junction. Condensation of exciton polaritons here takes place under incoherent ...excitation in a double potential well naturally formed in the disorder. Coherent oscillations set on at an excitation power well above the condensation threshold. The time resolved population and phase dynamics reveal the analogy with the ac Josephson effect. A theoretical two-mode model describes the observed effects, explaining how the different realizations of the pulsed experiment can be in phase.
One of the most striking quantum effects in an interacting Bose gas at low temperature is superfluidity. First observed in liquid 4He, this phenomenon has been intensively studied in a variety of ...systems for its remarkable features such as the persistence of superflows and the proliferation of quantized vortices. The achievement of Bose-Einstein condensation in dilute atomic gases provided the opportunity to observe and study superfluidity in an extremely clean and well-controlled environment. In the solid state, Bose-Einstein condensation of exciton polaritons has been reported recently. Polaritons are strongly interacting light-matter quasiparticles that occur naturally in semiconductor microcavities in the strong-coupling regime and constitute an interesting example of composite bosons. Here, we report the observation of spontaneous formation of pinned quantized vortices in the Bose-condensed phase of a polariton fluid. Theoretical insight into the possible origin of such vortices is presented in terms of a generalized Gross-Pitaevskii equation. Whereas the observation of quantized vortices is, in itself, not sufficient for establishing the superfluid nature of the non-equilibrium polariton condensate, it suggests parallels between our system and conventional superfluids.
Exciton polaritons have been shown to be an optimal system in order to investigate the properties of bosonic quantum fluids. We report here on the observation of dark solitons in the wake of ...engineered circular obstacles and their decay into streets of quantized vortices. Our experiments provide a time-resolved access to the polariton phase and density, which allows for a quantitative study of instabilities of freely evolving polaritons. The decay of solitons is quantified and identified as an effect of disorder-induced transverse perturbations in the dissipative polariton gas.
The experimental investigation of spontaneously created vortices is of utmost importance for the understanding of quantum phase transitions towards a superfluid phase, especially for two-dimensional ...systems that are expected to be governed by the Berezinski-Kosterlitz-Thouless physics. By means of time-resolved near-field interferometry we track the path of such vortices, created at random locations in an exciton-polariton condensate under pulsed nonresonant excitation, to their final pinning positions imposed by the stationary disorder. We formulate a theoretical model that successfully reproduces the experimental observations.
A Feshbach resonance occurs when the energy of two interacting free particles comes into resonance with a molecular bound state. When approaching this resonance, marked changes in the interaction ...strength between the particles can arise. Feshbach resonances provide a powerful tool for controlling the interactions in ultracold atomic gases, which can be switched from repulsive to attractive1, 2, 3, 4, and have allowed a range of many-body quantum physics effects to be explored5, 6. Here we demonstrate a Feshbach resonance based on the polariton spinor interactions in a semiconductor microcavity. By tuning the energy of two polaritons with anti-parallel spins across the biexciton bound state energy, we show an enhancement of attractive interactions and a prompt change to repulsive interactions. A mean-field two-channel model quantitatively reproduces the experimental results. This observation paves the way for a new tool for tuning polariton interactions and to move forward into quantum correlated polariton physics.
Exciton-polariton condensation can be regarded as a self-organization phenomenon, where phase ordering is established among particles in the system. In such condensed systems, further ordering can ...occur in the particle density distribution, under particular experimental conditions. In this work we report on spontaneous pattern formation in a polariton condensate under nonresonant optical pumping. The slightly elliptical ring-shaped excitation laser that we employ forces condensation to occur into a single-energy state with periodic boundary conditions, giving rise to a multilobe standing-wave patterned state.
Using an angle-resolved heterodyne four-wave-mixing technique, we probe the low momentum excitation spectrum of a coherent polariton gas. The experimental results are well captured by the Bogoliubov ...transformation which describes the transition from single particle excitations of a normal fluid to soundlike excitations of a superfluid. In a dense coherent polariton gas, we find all the characteristics of a Bogoliubov transformation, i.e., the positive and negative energy branch with respect to the polariton gas energy at rest, soundlike shapes for the excitations dispersion, intensity, and linewidth ratio between the two branches in agreement with the theory. The influence of the nonequilibrium character of the polariton gas is shown by a careful analysis of its dispersion.
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