title: Coupled counterrotating polariton condensates in optically defined annular potentials.
abstract: Polariton condensates are macroscopic quantum states formed by half-matter half-light quasiparticles, thus connecting the phenomena of atomic Bose-Einstein condensation, superfluidity, and photon lasing. Here we report the spontaneous formation of such condensates in programmable potential landscapes generated by two concentric circles of light. The imposed geometry supports the emergence of annular states that extend up to 100 μm, yet are fully coherent and exhibit a spatial structure that remains stable for minutes at a time. These states exhibit a petal-like intensity distribution arising due to the interaction of two superfluids counterpropagating in the circular waveguide defined by the optical potential. In stark contrast to annular modes in conventional lasing systems, the resulting standing wave patterns exhibit only minimal overlap with the pump laser itself. We theoretically describe the system using a complex Ginzburg-Landau equation, which indicates why the condensate wants to rotate. Experimentally, we demonstrate the ability to precisely control the structure of the petal condensates both by carefully modifying the excitation geometry as well as perturbing the system on ultrafast timescales to reveal unexpected superfluid dynamics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0HE, United Kingdom;
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dreismann
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0HE, United Kingdom;
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cristofolini
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0HE, United Kingdom;
authors.forename: Ryan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Balili
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0HE, United Kingdom;
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Christmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0WA, United Kingdom;
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pinsker
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0WA, United Kingdom;Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Skolkovo 143025, Russian Federation;
authors.forename: Natasha G
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Berloff
authors.affiliation: Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas, Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser, 71110 Heraklion, Crete, Greece;Department of Physics, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Crete, Greece; and.
authors.forename: Zacharias
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Hatzopoulos
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0HE, United Kingdom;Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas, Institute of Electronic Structure and Laser, 71110 Heraklion, Crete, Greece;Department of Materials Science and Technology, University of Crete, 71003 Heraklion, Crete, Greece.
authors.forename: Pavlos G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Savvidis
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0HE, United Kingdom; jjb12@cam.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Jeremy J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Baumberg
keywords: BEC; SQUID; interferometer; rings