Metamorphoses of the flow past an obstacle of a resonantly-driven bistable polariton fluid

TL;DR

This paper theoretically investigates the complex flow behavior of a resonantly-driven, bistable polariton fluid past an obstacle, revealing multiple abrupt transitions between stationary states influenced by fluid velocity and obstacle strength.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical analysis of flow dynamics in a bistable polariton fluid, highlighting unique transition phenomena not seen in traditional fluids.

Findings

Flow exhibits multiple abrupt transitions with increasing velocity or obstacle strength.

Transitions occur between stationary states involving bistability.

Unstable intermediate density states appear at transition points.

Abstract

Motivated by recent experiments, we theoretically analyze the flow past an obstacle of a one-dimensional "quantum fluid of light" which is resonantly driven, and exhibits bistability. The flow is found to abruptly change several times when the fluid velocity or the obstacle potential strength are increased. In contrast to the cases of usual fluids and superfluids, the transitions take place between stationary states. They involve the fluid bistability in an essential way. Remarkably, at the transitions points, the fluid in the obstacle wake lies in the unstable intermediate density state.