"Quantum properties of polariton fluids in semiconductor microcavities."

  • Datum: 16.10.2012
  • Uhrzeit: 11:30 - 11:30
  • Vortragende(r): Professor Elisabeth Giacobino, Laboratoire Kastler Brossel, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, CNRS
  • Raum: Herbert Walther Lecture Hall
  • Gastgeber: MPQ
"Polaritons are very special quasi-particles, which are a mixture of matter and light. In a semiconductor microcavity exciton-polaritons arise from strong coupling between cavity photons and quantum well excitons (bound electron-hole states). What makes them very attractive is the possibility of combining the coherent properties of photons with the highly interacting features of electronic states. They have recently demonstrated unprecedented non-linearities, Bose-Einstein condensation and superfluidity.First, I will show that these nonlinearities can bring quantum optical effects, as well as polarization controlled optical gates, spin control and ultra-fast spin switching. In addition, due to their very low mass (~10-4 times that of the electron, inherited from their photonic component), polaritons also exhibit condensation and quantum fluid properties at temperatures of a few K. I will present our recent results, demonstrating superfluid motion of polaritons, which manifests itself as the ability to flow without friction when the flow velocity is slower than the speed of sound in the fluid. Cerenkov-like wake patterns, vortices and dark solitons are also observed when the flow velocity is varied."
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