Onset of vortex clustering and inverse energy cascade in dissipative quantum fluids

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates turbulent dynamics and vortex clustering in a 2D quantum fluid of exciton-polaritons, revealing inverse energy cascade phenomena and vortex behavior in dissipative quantum systems.

Contribution

It provides the first experimental evidence of vortex clustering and inverse energy cascade in a dissipative 2D quantum fluid of light.

Findings

Vortex clustering is triggered by increased incompressible kinetic energy.

Quantum turbulence features are observed in a dissipative exciton-polariton system.

The results suggest pathways for studying quantum turbulence in light-based systems.

Abstract

Turbulent phenomena are among the most striking effects that both classical and quantum fluids can exhibit. While classical turbulence is ubiquitous in nature, the observation of quantum turbulence requires the precise manipulation of quantum fluids such as superfluid helium or atomic Bose-Einstein condensates. In this work we demonstrate the turbulent dynamics of a 2D quantum fluid of exciton-polaritons, hybrid light-matter quasiparticles, both by measuring the kinetic energy spectrum and showing the onset of vortex clustering. We demonstrate that the formation of clusters of quantum vortices is triggered by the increase of the incompressible kinetic energy per vortex, showing the tendency of the vortex-gas towards highly excited configurations despite the dissipative nature of our system. These results lay the basis for the investigations of quantum turbulence in two-dimensional fluids of light.