Geometric frustration in polygons of polariton condensates creating vortices of varying topological charge

Vorticity is a key ingredient to a broad variety of fluid phenomena, and its quantised version is considered to be the hallmark of superfluidity. Circulating flows that correspond to vortices of a large topological charge, termed giant vortices, are notoriously difficult to realise and even when externally imprinted, they are unstable, breaking into many vortices of a single charge. In spite of many theoretical proposals on the formation and stabilisation of giant vortices in ultra-cold atomic Bose-Einstein condensates and other superfluid systems, their experimental realisation remains elusive. Polariton condensates stand out from other superfluid systems due to their particularly strong interparticle interactions combined with their non-equilibrium nature, and as such provide an alternative testbed for the study of vortices. Here, we non-resonantly excite an odd number of polariton condensates at the vertices of a regular polygon and we observe the formation of a stable discrete vortex state with a large topological charge as a consequence of antibonding frustration between nearest neighbouring condensates. There is interest in studying vorticity in systems of light-matter interaction using different platforms. Here, the authors show vortices of topological charge more than one and their scaling in an exciton-polariton condensate using GaAs microcavity with embedded InGaAs quantum wells.

Automated summary

Researchers successfully generated vortices of topological charge greater than one in an exciton-polariton condensate using a GaAs microcavity embedded with InGaAs quantum wells. The stable discrete vortex state was observed due to antibonding frustration between odd number of polariton condensates, providing an alternative testbed for studying vortices in systems of light-matter interaction. Interest lies in exploring vorticity in different platforms for light-matter interaction systems.