Hydrodynamic nucleation of vortices and solitons in a resonantly excited polariton superfluid

Simon Pigeon (1) , Iacopo Carusotto (2) , Cristiano Ciuti (1)

1 MPQ (UMR_7162) - Laboratoire Matériaux et Phénomènes Quantiques
2 UNITN - Università degli Studi di Trento = University of Trento

We present a theoretical study of the hydrodynamic properties of a quantum gas of exciton-polaritons in a semiconductor microcavity under a resonant laser excitation. The effect of a spatially extended defect on the superfluid flow is investigated as a function of the flow speed. The processes that are responsible for the nucleation of vortices and solitons in the wake of the defect are characterized, as well as the regimes where the superfluid flow remains unperturbed. Specific features due to the non-equilibrium nature of the polariton fluid are put in evidence.

Domaines: Autre [cond-mat.other]; Optique [physics.optics]; Dynamique des Fluides [physics.flu-dyn]

Simon Pigeon, Iacopo Carusotto, Cristiano Ciuti. Hydrodynamic nucleation of vortices and solitons in a resonantly excited polariton superfluid. Physical Review B: Condensed Matter and Materials Physics (1998-2015), 2011, 83, pp.144513. ⟨10.1103/PhysRevB.83.144513⟩. ⟨hal-00494935⟩