Ghost Branch Photoluminescence From a Polariton Fluid Under Nonresonant Excitation

Phys Rev Lett. 2015 Oct 30;115(18):186401. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.186401. Epub 2015 Oct 26.

Abstract

An expanding polariton condensate is investigated under pulsed nonresonant excitation with a small laser pump spot. Far above the condensation threshold we observe a pronounced increase in the dispersion curvature, with a subsequent linearization of the spectrum and strong luminescence from a ghost branch orthogonally polarized with respect to the linearly polarized condensate emission. Polarization of both branches is understood in terms of spin-dependent polariton-polariton scattering. The presence of the ghost branch has been confirmed in time-resolved measurements. The effects of disorder and dissipation in the photoluminescence of polariton condensates and their excitations are discussed.