Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 31, 2025
10:52
Direct Imaging of Laser-driven Ultrafast Molecular Rotation
Published on: February 4, 2017
9.8K
Optically Driven Rotation of Exciton-Polariton Condensates.
Yago Del Valle-Inclan Redondo1,2, Christian Schneider3, Sebastian Klembt4
1RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science, Wako-shi, Saitama 351-0198, Japan.
Nano Letters
|May 2, 2023
Summary
Researchers achieved controlled optical rotation of exciton-polariton condensates at gigahertz frequencies. This breakthrough allows direct measurement of angular momentum and deterministic control over quantized vortices in open dissipative superfluids.
Area of Science:
- Quantum physics
- Condensed matter physics
- Optics
Background:
- Classical fluids exhibit distinct rotational responses compared to quantum condensed fluids.
- The dynamics of rotating open-dissipative superfluids, like exciton-polariton condensates, are under-explored, particularly at high rotation frequencies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the rotational dynamics of open-dissipative superfluids, specifically exciton-polariton condensates.
- To achieve and control high-frequency optical rotation of these condensates.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a rotating optical stirrer, created by time-dependent interference of two frequency-offset, structured laser modes, to achieve gigahertz frequency rotation.
- Off-resonantly pumped the exciton-polariton condensate.
Main Results:
- Successfully created a rotating polariton condensate at gigahertz frequencies.
- Directly measured angular momentum exceeding the critical 1ℏ/particle.
- Demonstrated deterministic nucleation and capture of quantized vortices with controlled handedness.
Conclusions:
- The controlled optical rotation of polariton condensates opens new avenues for studying open dissipative superfluidity.
- This platform facilitates research into the ordering of non-Hermitian quantized vortex matter and topological states.
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