Self-localization of polariton condensates in periodic potentials
E. A. Ostrovskaya, J. Abdullaev, M. D. Fraser, A. S. Destyatnikov, and Yu. S. Kivshar
Accepted
We predict the existence of novel spatially localized states of exciton-polariton Bose-Einstein condensates in semiconductor microcavities with fabricated periodic in-plane potentials. Our theory shows that, under the condition of continuous off-resonant pumping and losses associated with polariton decay, localization is observed for a wide range of optical pump parameters due to effective potentials self-induced by the polariton flows in the spatially periodic system. We reveal that the self-localization of exciton-polaritons in the lattice may occur both in the gaps and bands of the single-particle linear spectrum, and is dominated by the effects of gain and dissipation rather than the structured potential, in sharp contrast to the conservative condensates of ultracold alkali atoms.