Vortex pair annihilation in arrays of photon cavities

TL;DR

This paper theoretically studies how vortex pairs in photon condensate arrays evolve and annihilate during a transition from incoherent to coherent states, influenced by system parameters like tunneling and photon loss.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical framework to analyze vortex dynamics in photon condensate arrays during phase transition, considering various system parameters.

Findings

Vortex-antivortex recombination depends on emission and absorption coefficients.

System parameters significantly influence vortex dynamics.

The study provides insights into controlling vortex behavior in photon condensates.

Abstract

We investigate theoretically the evolution of the vortex number in an array of photon condensates that is brought from an incoherent low density state to a coherent high density state by a sudden change in the pumping laser intensity. We analyze how the recombination of vortices and antivortices depends on the system parameters such as the coefficients for emission and absorption of photons by the dye molecules, the rate of tunneling between the cavities, the photon loss rate and the number of photons in the condensate.