Superfluidity of Light and Its Breakdown in Optical Mesh Lattices

Year: 2021

Authors: Wimmer M.; Monika M.; Carusotto I.; Peschel U.; Price H.M.

Autors Affiliation: Friedrich Schiller Univ Jena, Inst Condensed Matter Theory & Opt, Max Wien Pl 1, D-07743 Jena, Germany; Univ Trento, INO CNR BEC Ctr, I-38123 Povo, Italy; Univ Trento, Dipartimento Fis, I-38123 Povo, Italy; Univ Birmingham, Sch Phys & Astron, Edgbaston Pk Rd, Birmingham B15 2TT, W Midlands, England.

Abstract: Hydrodynamic phenomena can be observed with light thanks to the analogy between quantum gases and nonlinear optics. In this Letter, we report an experimental study of the superfluid-like properties of light in a ()-dimensional nonlinear optical mesh lattice, where the arrival time of optical pulses plays the role of a synthetic spatial dimension. A spatially narrow defect at rest is used to excite sound waves in the fluid of light and measure the sound speed. The critical velocity for superfluidity is probed by looking at the threshold in the deposited energy by a moving defect, above which the apparent superfluid behavior breaks down. Our observations establish optical mesh lattices as a promising platform to study fluids of light in novel regimes of interdisciplinary interest, including non-Hermitian and/or topological physics.

Journal/Review: PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS

Volume: 127 (16)      Pages from: 163901-1  to: 163901-6

KeyWords: nonlinear optics; superfluids
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.127.163901

ImpactFactor: 9.185
Citations: 16
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