Polaromechanics: polaritonics meets optomechanics

Cavity exciton polariton physics and cavity optomechanics have evolved into mature and active domains with, so far, very little connections between them. We argue here that there are strong reasons to bridge the two fields, opening interesting opportunities. Polaritons are entities sharing the properties of photons and excitons in a controllable way. They can lead to tunable and strongly enhanced optomechanical couplings and, through them, to single-particle cooperativies C-0 > 1 as well as ultra-strong optomechanical coupling in the many-particle regime. Besides, exciton-exciton Coulomb interactions define a new regime of non-linear many-body optomechanics with notable and largely unexplored consequences. Conversely, coherent vibrations can add a qualitatively distinct ingredient to the field of polaritonics by introducing the variable of time. Indeed, the mechanics built-in in polariton resonators allows for controllable time-modulation up to frequencies of tens of GHz with important consequences for the control of quantum emitters and bidirectional optical-to-microwave conversion. Most interestingly, it also enables polaritons to access Floquet physics, Landau-Zenner-Stuckelberg state preparation, spinor pseudo-magnetic resonance, as well as optomechanically induced non-reciprocal phenomena. This guest-editorial addresses the opportunities and challenges in these emerging field. (c) 2023 Optica Publishing Group under the terms of the Optica Open Access Publishing Agreement

Automated summary

Cavity exciton polariton physics and cavity optomechanics are two well-developed fields with limited connections. Bridging the two fields can lead to tunable and enhanced optomechanical couplings and explore non-linear many-body optomechanics. Coherent vibrations in polariton resonators introduce time modulation and enable access to Floquet physics and optomechanically induced non-reciprocal phenomena. This article discusses the opportunities and challenges in these emerging fields.