Quantum fluids of light in acoustic lattices

• Published in: Journal of physics. D, Applied physics Applied physics, 2018-01, Vol.51 (3), p.33001
• Main Authors: Cerda-Méndez, E A, Krizhanovskii, D N, Skolnick, M S, Santos, P V
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: exciton-polaritons; microcavities; surface acoustic waves
• ISSN: 0022-3727; 1361-6463
• DOI: 10.1088/1361-6463/aa9ec7

In this topical review, we report on the recent advances on the manipulation of hybrid light-matter quasi-particles called exciton-polaritons and their quantum condensed phases by means of acoustic and static periodic potentials. Polaritons are a superposition of photons and excitons and form in optical microcavities with quantum wells embedded in it. They are low-mass bosons in the dilute limit and have strong inter-particle interactions inherited from the excitonic component. Their capability to form quantum-condensed phases at temperatures in the kelvin range and to behave like quantum fluids makes them very attractive for novel solid-state devices. Since their de Broglie wavelength is of the order of a few micrometers, polaritons can be manipulated using static or dynamic potentials with micrometer scales. We present here a summary of the techniques used to submit polaritons and their condensed phases to periodic potentials, with an emphasis in dynamic ones produced by surface acoustic waves. We discuss the interesting phenomena that occur under such a modulation, such as condensation in excited states of the Brillouin zone, fragmentation of a condensate, formation of self-localized wavepackets, and Dirac and massive polaritons in static hexagonal and kagome lattices, respectively. The different techniques explored open the way to implement polariton-based quantum simulators, nano-optomechanic resonators and polaritonic topological insulators.