STAGE OFFRE DE STAGE: VORTEX PAIR DYNAMICS IN SUPERFLUID OF LIGHT

When light propagates in linear medium (vacuum, air etc), photon behaves as a noninteracting

gas, but when the medium is non-linear (an atomic vapor or a semiconductor

microcavity for examples), they start flowing as a liquid, called fluid of light. From the

medium, photons acquire an effective interaction that may lead to macroscopic coherent

behavior. Among the different system allowing to generate such particular fluids,

semiconductor microcavities are surely the more advanced, allowing for the observation of

superfluid of light [1,2] or of vortex pair appearing spontaneously when the superfluid flow

through a local potential barrier [3].

In the context of atomic superfluid the dynamics of these topological excitations are well

understood, but in the context of superfluid of light, the picture is blurred. This derives mainly

from the dissipative nature of fluids of light in cavities where the photon lifetime is so short

that the system needs to be continuously pumped. This driving dissipative scheme and its

interaction with vortex pair will be the focus of this internship. The student will investigate

numerically the dynamics of these pairs in presence of a coherent driving in realistic

experimental conditions.[1] A. Amo, J. Lefrère, S. Pigeon, C. Adrados, C. Ciuti, I. Carusotto, R. Houdré, E.

Giacobino, and A. Bramati, “Superfluidity of polaritons in semiconductor microcavities,”

Nature Physics 5, 805–810 (2009).[2] I. Carusotto and C. Ciuti “Quantum fluid