Publication
Title
Unstable and stable regimes of polariton condensation
Author
Abstract
Modulational instabilities play a key role in a wide range of nonlinear optical phenomena, leading, e.g., to the formation of spatial and temporal solitons, rogue waves, and chaotic dynamics. Here, we experimentally demonstrate the existence of a modulational instability in condensates of cavity polaritons, quasi-particles arising from the strong coupling of cavity photons with quantum well excitons. For this purpose, we investigate the spatiotemporal coherence properties of polariton condensates in GaAs-based microcavities under continuous-wave pumping. The chaotic behavior of the instability results in a strongly reduced spatial and temporal coherence and a significantly inhomogeneous density. Additionally, we show how the instability can be tamed by introducing a periodic potential so that condensation occurs in negative mass states, leading to largely improved coherence and homogeneity. These results pave the way to the exploration of long-range order in dissipative quantum fluids of light within a controlled platform. Published by The Optical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Optica
Publication
Optical Society of America (OSA) , 2018
ISSN
2334-2536
DOI
10.1364/OPTICA.5.001163
Volume/pages
5 :10 (2018) , p. 1163-1170
ISI
000447853100001
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Project info
AQUS: Analog quantum simulators for many-body dynamics
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 09.11.2018
Last edited 09.10.2023
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