Anton Nalitov: Optically trapped exciton-polariton condensates

Title: Optically trapped exciton-polariton condensates Abstract: Exciton-polaritons are mixed light-matter quasi-particles emerging in optical microcavities. Being interacting bosons, they tend to form quantum coherent condensates. However, unlike any equilibrium Bose-Einstein condensate, they may be sustained and confined with optical pumping. These out-of-equilibrium optically trapped condensates behave uniquely and show a range of effects such as spin bifurcations, spontaneous topological transitions, and even spatiotemporal ordering. This seminar is aimed to give a short introduction to their physics and to overview these effects.