Coherent dynamics and parametric instabilities of microcavity polaritons in double-well systems

Sarchi, Davide; Carusotto, Iacopo; Wouters, Michiel; Savona, Vincenzo

doi:10.1103/physrevb.77.125324

Cited by 113 publications

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“…The centre-to-centre separation of 3.7 µm results in a tunnel coupling of the lowest energy confined polaritonic states (ground state) of J = 0.1 meV. This double potential well system can be described by equations (1a) and (1b) with the addition of a phenomenological decay term 9,24 , −i(h/2τ )ψ L(R) , accounting for the polariton losses due to the escape of photons out of the cavity, and with a positive value of U coming from the polariton-polariton repulsive interactions 25 .…”

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“…For photonic systems, mostly theoretical results have been obtained so far. Despite the observation of symmetry breaking in photonic Kerr media 17,18 , nonlinear Josephson oscillations 9,10,19 have remained inaccessible owing to the short lifetimes and very weak effective photon-photon interactions in standard nonlinear optical systems.In this work we present the experimental observation of nonlinear Josephson physics in a highly nonlinear photonic system, namely cavity polaritons confined in coupled micropillars 8 . Polaritons are quasiparticles arising from the strong coupling between quantum well excitons and photons confined in a semiconductor microcavity.…”

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confidence: 99%

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“…At low densities we observe coherent oscillations of particles tunnelling between the two sites. At high densities, interactions quench the transfer of particles, inducing the macroscopic self-trapping of polaritons in one of the micropillars 9,10 . The finite lifetime results in a dynamical transition from self-trapping to oscillations with π phase.…”

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Macroscopic quantum self-trapping and Josephson oscillations of exciton polaritons

et al. 2013

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The coupling of two macroscopic quantum states through a tunnel barrier gives rise to Josephson phenomena 1 such as Rabi oscillations 2 , the a.c. and d.c. effects 3 , or macroscopic self-trapping, depending on whether tunnelling or interactions dominate 4 . Nonlinear Josephson physics was first observed in superfluid helium 5 and atomic condensates 6,7 , but it has remained inaccessible in photonic systems because it requires large photon-photon interactions. Here we report on the observation of nonlinear Josephson oscillations of two coupled polariton condensates confined in a photonic molecule formed by two overlapping micropillars etched in a semiconductor microcavity 8 . At low densities we observe coherent oscillations of particles tunnelling between the two sites. At high densities, interactions quench the transfer of particles, inducing the macroscopic self-trapping of polaritons in one of the micropillars 9,10 . The finite lifetime results in a dynamical transition from self-trapping to oscillations with π phase. Our results open the way to the experimental study of highly nonlinear regimes in photonic systems, such as chaos 11-13 or symmetry-breaking bifurcations 14,15 .A bosonic Josephson junction is a device in which two macroscopic ensembles of bosons, each of them occupying a single quantum state, are coupled by a tunnel barrier. The system can be described by the following coupled nonlinear Schrödinger equations 1 :where ψ L,R are the bosonic wavefunctions with particle densities |ψ L,R | 2 localized to the left (L) and to the right (R) of the barrier, E 0 L,R is the single particle energy of the quantum states, U is the particle-particle interaction strength and J is the tunnel coupling constant. In the absence of interactions, equations (1a) and (1b) can be diagonalized in a basis of bonding (). An initial state prepared in a linear combination of these two (for instance, all particles in the left site) will result in density oscillations between the two sites. This is the main principle of the bosonic Josephson effect, which manifests in an ensemble of oscillatory regimes. In the absence of interactions, sinusoidal oscillations take place 4,7 with a frequencȳ Josephson physics shows the most spectacular phenomena in the nonlinear regime, when the interaction energy (U |ψ| 2 ) is greater than the coupling J . The transfer of particles from one site to the other gives rise to a dynamical renormalization of the energy in each site, resulting in anharmonic oscillations. If interactions are strong enough (U |ψ| 2 J ), the self-induced energy renormalization quenches the tunnelling, and most of the particles remain localized in one of the sites. This out of equilibrium metastable regime is called macroscopic quantum self-trapping.A number of bosonic systems have demonstrated Josephson physics. Harmonic oscillations in the linear regime have been observed in superconductor junctions 2 or in nanoscale apertures connecting superfluid helium vessels 5 . Bose-Einstein condensates of ultracold atoms in cou...

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Macroscopic quantum self-trapping and Josephson oscillations of exciton polaritons

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“…These include states where the density is symmetrical in the two wells, as well as states where the condensate becomes trapped in the pumped well. The appearance of asymmetrical states is similar to the phenomenon of macroscopic quantum self-trapping, as previously analyzed for polaritons without gain and loss [26], and for resonant pumping [27,28]. In these cases, however, the asymmetry is caused by strong interactions, which prevent a complete transfer of population between the wells.…”

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Localization and self-trapping in driven-dissipative polariton condensates

Bello

Eastham

2017

Phys. Rev. B

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We study driven-dissipative Bose-Einstein condensates in a two-mode Josephson system, such as a double-well potential, with asymmetrical pumping. We investigate nonlinear effects on the condensate populations and mode transitions. The generalized Gross-Pitaevskii equations are modified in order to treat pumping of only a single mode. We characterize the steady-state solutions in such a system as well as criteria for potential trapping of a condensate mode. There are many possible steady states, with different density and/or phase profiles. Transitions between different condensate modes can be induced by varying the parameters of the junction or the initial conditions, or by applying external fields.

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Circuit QED lattices: Towards quantum simulation with superconducting circuits

2013

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The Jaynes-Cummings model describes the coupling between photons and a single two-level atom in a simplified representation of light-matter interactions. In circuit QED, this model is implemented by combining microwave resonators and superconducting qubits on a microchip with unprecedented experimental control. Arranging qubits and resonators in the form of a lattice realizes a new kind of Hubbard model, the Jaynes-Cummings-Hubbard model, in which the elementary excitations are polariton quasiparticles. Due to the genuine openness of photonic systems, circuit QED lattices offer the possibility to study the intricate interplay of collective behavior, strong correlations and non-equilibrium physics. Thus, turning circuit QED into an architecture for quantum simulation, i.e., using a wellcontrolled system to mimic the intricate quantum behavior of another system too daunting for a theorist to tackle head-on, is an exciting idea which has served as theorists' playground for a while and is now also starting to catch on in experiments. This review gives a summary of the most recent theoretical proposals and experimental efforts.

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Coherent dynamics and parametric instabilities of microcavity polaritons in double-well systems

Cited by 113 publications

References 31 publications

Macroscopic quantum self-trapping and Josephson oscillations of exciton polaritons

Macroscopic quantum self-trapping and Josephson oscillations of exciton polaritons

Localization and self-trapping in driven-dissipative polariton condensates

Circuit QED lattices: Towards quantum simulation with superconducting circuits

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