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Quantum vortex formation in the "rotating bucket" experiment with polariton condensates
Ivan Gnusov1, Stella Harrison2, Sergey Alyatkin1
1Hybrid Photonics Laboratory, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Territory of Innovation Center Skolkovo, Bolshoy Boulevard 30, building 1, 121205 Moscow, Russia.
Science Advances
|January 25, 2023
Summary
Scientists created a "rotating bucket" experiment for quantum fluids of light, observing quantized vortices. This allows for new studies of superfluidity and all-optical control of light.
Area of Science:
- Condensed matter physics
- Quantum optics
Background:
- Quantized vortices are key in superfluid studies, observed in liquid helium and ultracold gases.
- The
- rotating bucket
- experiment is a standard method for studying superfluids.
Purpose of the Study:
- To realize the rotating bucket experiment for an optically trapped quantum fluid of light.
- To investigate quantized vortex formation in exciton-polariton Bose-Einstein condensates.
- To enable comparative studies of polariton superfluidity.
Main Methods:
- Utilized an exciton-polariton Bose-Einstein condensate in a semiconductor microcavity.
- Employed two frequency-stabilized lasers to create a time-periodic rotating excitation profile.
- Investigated vortex formation dependence on rotation frequency (1–4 GHz).
Main Results:
- Successfully generated a corotating quantized vortex in the quantum fluid of light.
- Identified a specific range of stirring frequencies that promote quantized vortex formation.
- Phenomenology described using the generalized Gross-Pitaevskii equation.
Conclusions:
- The study establishes a platform for studying polariton superfluidity comparable to other superfluids.
- Enables deterministic, all-optical control over structured nonlinear light.
- Opens new avenues for fundamental research in quantum fluids.
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