Mimicking graphene with polaritonic spin vortices

TL;DR

This paper proposes an analogue of graphene using exciton-polariton spin vortices in a hexagonal lattice, revealing tunable dispersion properties and the ability to invert coupling signs, advancing quantum simulation capabilities.

Contribution

It introduces a novel graphene analogue with exciton-polariton spin vortices, enabling richer quantum simulations and control over coupling interactions.

Findings

Graphene-like dispersion observed at various energy scales.

Sign of nearest neighbor coupling can be inverted.

Exciton-polariton spin vortex modes provide a versatile platform.

Abstract

Exploring the properties of strongly correlated systems through quantum simulation with photons, cold atoms or polaritons represents an active area of research. In fact, the latter permits to shed the light on the behavior of complex systems which are hardly to be addressed in the laboratory or tackled numerically. In this study we discuss an analogue of graphene formed by exciton-polariton spin vortices arranged into a hexagonal lattice. We show how the graphene-type dispersion at different energy scales arises for several types of exciton-polariton spin vortices. In contrast to previous studies of exciton-polaritons in artificial lattices, the use of exciton-polariton spin vortex modes offers a more rich playground for quantum simulations. In particular, we demonstrate that the sign of the nearest neighbor coupling strength can be inverted.