Vortex Nucleation to Nature Physics Cover

Exciton-polariton fluids — which are composed of composite light–matter bosons — provide an experimental means for studying quantum fluids that are intrinsically out of equilibrium. The group of Prof. Benoît Deveaud-Plédran (LOEQ - Laboratory of Quantum Optoelectronics) demonstrate the nucleation and dynamics of vortex–anti-vortex pairs in the flow of exciton-polaritons passing around an obstacle, and establish these systems as a platform for studying quantum turbulence.

G. Nardin, Nature Physics 7, 635–641 (2011)