Analog Polariton Simulators

Introduction

Many physical systems in nature must be described using a huge number of coupled degrees of freedom. Treating these problems on a classical computer leads to computation times growing exponentially with the system size.

Analog Simulators

Analog simulators are well-controlled systems to which a complex problem can be mapped, and from which the physics can be experimentally read out. Here, we want to develop powerful analog simulators based on semiconductor cavity polaritons, light-matter quasi-particles that have appeared as a versatile platform to explore the physics of bosonic open systems.

Project Goals

Using the fine control we now have in polariton lattices, ANAPOLIS opens the door to the simulation of a large class of systems subject to external drive and dissipation, a regime hardly explored in other platforms. Out-of-equilibrium condensation, giant Kerr non-linearity, and optical driving of steady states are the ingredients we will use in ANAPOLIS to explore three scientific objectives:

1. Phase Fluctuations
   We will study phase fluctuations in polariton condensates and map the system to the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang equation, which describes many dynamical nonlinear systems. In 2D, solving this equation is a challenge raising open questions that no experimental platform has addressed so far.

2. Charged Particles Simulation
   We will resonantly drive polariton lattices with elaborate phase patterns to simulate the physics of charged particles in a magnetic field. Optically inducing complex valued hoppings, we will tailor topological properties for the Bogoliubov excitations and explore non-linear physics on top of a topological superfluid.

3. Quantum Transverse Ising Model
   We will use cavity lattices under quadratic drive to emulate the physics of the quantum transverse Ising model in a driven-dissipative context. We will use this simulator to find the steady state of the system and explore quantum magnetism and dissipative phase transitions.

Conclusion

ANAPOLIS will provide unique opportunities to address stochastic phenomena, nonlinear and many-body physics in a driven-dissipative context.