Antiferromagnetic Ising model in a triangular vortex lattice of quantum fluids of light

Sergey Alyatkin, Carles Milián, Yaroslav V. Kartashov, Kirill A. Sitnik, Ivan Gnusov, Julian D. Töpfer, Helgi Sigurðsson, Pavlos G. Lagoudakis

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Vortices are topologically distinctive objects appearing as phase twists in coherent fields of optical beams and Bose-Einstein condensates. Structured networks and artificial lattices of coupled vortices could offer a powerful platform to study and simulate interaction mechanisms between constituents of condensed matter systems, such as antiferromagnetic interactions, by replacement of spin angular momentum with orbital angular momentum. Here, we realize such a platform using a macroscopic quantum fluid of light based on exciton-polariton condensates. We imprint all-optical hexagonal lattice that results into a triangular vortex lattice, with each cell having a vortex of charge l = ±1. We reveal that pairs of coupled condensates spontaneously arrange their orbital angular momentum antiparallel, implying a form of artificial orbital "antiferromagnetism." We discover that correlation exists between the emergent vortex patterns in triangular condensate lattices and the low-energy solutions of the corresponding antiferromagnetic Ising system. Our study offers a path toward spontaneously ordered vortex arrays with nearly arbitrary configurations and controlled couplings.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)eadj1589
JournalScience advances
Volume10
Issue number34
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 23 Aug 2024

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Antiferromagnetic Ising model in a triangular vortex lattice of quantum fluids of light'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this