Polygonal patterns of confined light

Abstract

We propose a technique for the generation of polygonal optical patterns in real space using a combined effect of the spin–orbit interaction and confinement of light in the plane of a dielectric optical microcavity. The spin–orbit interaction emerging from the splitting in transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) optical modes of the microcavity gives rise to oscillations in space of propagating macroscopic wave packets of polarized photons. Confined in a harmonic potential, the latter follow closed trajectories of a polygonal form. We demonstrate the possibility of excitation by a continuous wave resonant optical pumping of polygonal optical patterns with a controllable (both even and odd) number of vertices.

Spin-orbital effect on polariton state in traps

“…To get better understanding of the effect of SOC on the low-energy levels it is convenient to derive the effective Hamiltonian for the quasi-1D angular motion of a polariton in the ring. This Hamiltonian can be particularly useful for the analysis of polariton condensation in the ring geometry, spontaneous azimuthal currents [47], formations of space-time periodic polarization patterns [24,35,48], and annular Josephson vortices [49,50]. The annular Hamiltonian can be obtained in adiabatic approximation by averaging over appropriate radial wave function.…”

“…Many polarization effects and phenomena observed and discussed for the polariton system are, on the one hand, to some extent copycat of those for electrons in quantum wells, but, on the other hand, they frequently bring in new ideas related to higher space and time coherence of polaritons and to feasibility experimental observation and verification by optical means. It is worth mentioning the optical spin Hall effect [20,21], polariton Berry-phase interferometer [22], and the polariton zitterbewegung [23,24] as some examples of effects that rely heavily on the presence of strong coupling between orbital and pseudospin dynamics in polariton transport (see also review [25] and references therein for additional information). The linear in wave vector SOC can be regarded as a vector potential with non-commuting components, or the non-Abelian gauge field, and the related effects can be clearly demonstrated by optical means [26].…”

Spin-Selective Currents of Tamm Polaritons

“…The formation of alternating polarization patterns due the interference of energy split eigenmodes is the manifestation of the optical spin Hall effect: the phenomenon well known for polaritons in optical microcavities [29][30][31]. The form of the Hamiltonian (3) indicates the possibility of manifestation in the proposed structure of another polarization-splitting-induced effect known in microcavities, that is the zitterbewegung [32][33][34]. The effect is expected to manifest itself as oscillations of the trajectory of the Tamm polariton in the interface plane acompanying the oscillations of the polarization.…”