Topological charge switching in trapped polariton condensates

Abstract

Topological charges in photonic systems provide a robust degree of freedom with direct applications in optical information processing. Bound states in the continuum (BICs) in photonic crystal slabs inherently carry such quantized topological charges, yet they are topologically protected, making active reconfiguration fundamentally challenging. Here, we demonstrate topological charge switching in trapped BIC polariton condensates in a photonic crystal, where spatial modulation of the photonic crystals supports multiple confined states, each carrying a distinct charge. Trapped condensates within the Dirac bandgap are expelled into the leaky band via polariton blueshift, enabling single-mode selection by solely tuning the excitation power. This work offers a platform for optically controlling topological charges by harnessing polariton nonlinearity.