Turbulence in exciton-polariton condensates

Abstract

Nonequilibrium condensate systems such as exciton-polariton condensates are capable of supporting a spontaneous vortex nucleation. The spatial inhomogeneity of pumping field or/and disordered potential creates velocity flow fields that may become unstable to vortex formation. This letter considers ways in which turbulent states of interacting vortices can be created. It is shown that by combining just two pumping intensities it is possible to create a superfluid turbulence state of well-separated vortices, a strong turbulence state of de-structured vortices, or a weak turbulence state in which all coherence of the field is lost and motion is driven by weakly interacting dispersive waves. The decay of turbulence can be obtained by replacing an inhomogeneous pumping by a uniform one. We show that both in quasi-equilibrium and during the turbulence decay there exists an inertial range dominated by four-wave interactions of acoustic waves.