Probing the Dynamics of Spontaneous Quantum Vortices in Polariton Superfluids

TL;DR

This paper investigates the behavior of spontaneous quantum vortices in polariton superfluids, combining experimental tracking with theoretical modeling to understand vortex dynamics and their role in quantum phase transitions.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed experimental tracking of vortex paths in polariton condensates and introduces a theoretical model that accurately reproduces these observations.

Findings

Vortices are created randomly and move to pinning sites due to disorder.

Time-resolved interferometry effectively tracks vortex trajectories.

Theoretical model aligns with experimental vortex dynamics.

Abstract

The experimental investigation of spontaneously created vortices is of utmost importance for the understanding of quantum phase transitions towards a superfluid phase, especially for two dimensional systems that are expected to be governed by the Berezinski-Kosterlitz-Thouless physics. By means of time resolved near-field interferometry we track the path of such vortices, created at random locations in an exciton-polariton condensate under pulsed non-resonant excitation, to their final pinning positions imposed by the stationary disorder. We formulate a theoretical model that successfully reproduces the experimental observations.