Cristiano Ciuti

Bio: Cristiano Ciuti is an academic researcher from University of Paris. The author has contributed to research in topics: Polariton & Photon. The author has an hindex of 58, co-authored 208 publications receiving 12494 citations. Previous affiliations of Cristiano Ciuti include École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne & Paris Diderot University.

Quantum fluids of light

Abstract: This article reviews recent theoretical and experimental advances in the fundamental understanding and active control of quantum fluids of light in nonlinear optical systems. In the presence of effective photon-photon interactions induced by the optical nonlinearity of the medium, a many-photon system can behave collectively as a quantum fluid with a number of novel features stemming from its intrinsically nonequilibrium nature. A rich variety of recently observed photon hydrodynamical effects is presented, from the superfluid flow around a defect at low speeds, to the appearance of a Mach-Cherenkov cone in a supersonic flow, to the hydrodynamic formation of topological excitations such as quantized vortices and dark solitons at the surface of large impenetrable obstacles. While the review is mostly focused on a specific class of semiconductor systems that have been extensively studied in recent years (planar semiconductor microcavities in the strong light-matter coupling regime having cavity polaritons as elementary excitations), the very concept of quantum fluids of light applies to a broad spectrum of systems, ranging from bulk nonlinear crystals, to atomic clouds embedded in optical fibers and cavities, to photonic crystal cavities, to superconducting quantum circuits based on Josephson junctions. The conclusive part of the article is devoted to a review of the future perspectives in the direction of strongly correlated photon gases and of artificial gauge fields for photons. In particular, several mechanisms to obtain efficient photon blockade are presented, together with their application to the generation of novel quantum phases.

Superfluidity of polaritons in semiconductor microcavities

Abstract: Similar to atoms in cold gases, exciton–polaritons in semiconductor microcavities can undergo Bose–Einstein condensation. A striking consequence of the appearance of macroscopic coherence in these systems is superfluidity. Now, clear evidence for such behaviour has been found in an exciton–polariton condensate. Superfluidity, the ability of a quantum fluid to flow without friction, is one of the most spectacular phenomena occurring in degenerate gases of interacting bosons. Since its first discovery in liquid helium-4 (refs 1, 2), superfluidity has been observed in quite different systems, and recent experiments with ultracold trapped atoms have explored the subtle links between superfluidity and Bose–Einstein condensation3,4,5. In solid-state systems, it has been anticipated that exciton–polaritons in semiconductor microcavities should behave as an unusual quantum fluid6,7,8, with unique properties stemming from its intrinsically non-equilibrium nature. This has stimulated the quest for an experimental demonstration of superfluidity effects in polariton systems9,10,11,12,13. Here, we report clear evidence for superfluid motion of polaritons. Superfluidity is investigated in terms of the Landau criterion and manifests itself as the suppression of scattering from defects when the flow velocity is slower than the speed of sound in the fluid. Moreover, a Cerenkov-like wake pattern is observed when the flow velocity exceeds the speed of sound. The experimental findings are in quantitative agreement with predictions based on a generalized Gross–Pitaevskii theory12,13, and establish microcavity polaritons as a system for exploring the rich physics of non-equilibrium quantum fluids.

Quantum vacuum properties of the intersubband cavity polariton field

Abstract: We present a quantum description of a planar microcavity photon mode strongly coupled to a semiconductor intersubband transition in presence of a two-dimensional electron gas. We show that, in this kind of system, the vacuum Rabi frequency ${\ensuremath{\Omega}}_{R}$ can be a significant fraction of the intersubband transition frequency ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{12}$. This regime of ultrastrong light-matter coupling is enhanced for long-wavelength transitions, because for a given doping density, effective mass and number of quantum wells, the ratio ${\ensuremath{\Omega}}_{R}∕{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{12}$ increases as the square root of the intersubband emission wavelength. We characterize the quantum properties of the ground state (a two-mode squeezed vacuum), which can be tuned in situ by changing the value of ${\ensuremath{\Omega}}_{R}$, e.g., through an electrostatic gate. We finally point out how the tunability of the polariton quantum vacuum can be exploited to generate correlated photon pairs out of the vacuum via quantum electrodynamics phenomena reminiscent of the dynamical Casimir effect.

Sub-cycle switch-on of ultrastrong light–matter interaction

Abstract: Controlling the way light interacts with material excitations is at the heart of cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED). In the strong-coupling regime, quantum emitters in a microresonator absorb and spontaneously re-emit a photon many times before dissipation becomes effective, giving rise to mixed light-matter eigenmodes. Recent experiments in semiconductor microcavities reached a new limit of ultrastrong coupling, where photon exchange occurs on timescales comparable to the oscillation period of light. In this limit, ultrafast modulation of the coupling strength has been suggested to lead to unconventional QED phenomena. Although sophisticated light-matter coupling has been achieved in all three spatial dimensions, control in the fourth dimension, time, is little developed. Here we use a quantum-well waveguide structure to optically tune light-matter interaction from weak to ultrastrong and turn on maximum coupling within less than one cycle of light. In this regime, a class of extremely non-adiabatic phenomena becomes observable. In particular, we directly monitor how a coherent photon population converts to cavity polaritons during abrupt switching. This system forms a promising laboratory in which to study novel sub-cycle QED effects and represents an efficient room-temperature switching device operating at unprecedented speed.

Ultrastrong Coupling of the Cyclotron Transition of a 2D Electron Gas to a THz Metamaterial

Abstract: Artificial cavity photon resonators with ultrastrong light-matter interactions are attracting interest both in semiconductor and superconducting systems because of the possibility of manipulating the cavity quantum electrodynamic ground state with controllable physical properties. We report here experiments showing ultrastrong light-matter coupling in a terahertz (THz) metamaterial where the cyclotron transition of a high-mobility two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) is coupled to the photonic modes of an array of electronic split-ring resonators. We observe a normalized coupling ratio, Ω ω c = 0.58 , between the vacuum Rabi frequency, Ω, and the cyclotron frequency, ω c . Our system appears to be scalable in frequency and could be brought to the microwave spectral range with the potential of strongly controlling the magnetotransport properties of a high-mobility 2DEG.

I and i

Abstract: There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality. Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

Phd by thesis

Abstract: Deposits of clastic carbonate-dominated (calciclastic) sedimentary slope systems in the rock record have been identified mostly as linearly-consistent carbonate apron deposits, even though most ancient clastic carbonate slope deposits fit the submarine fan systems better. Calciclastic submarine fans are consequently rarely described and are poorly understood. Subsequently, very little is known especially in mud-dominated calciclastic submarine fan systems. Presented in this study are a sedimentological core and petrographic characterisation of samples from eleven boreholes from the Lower Carboniferous of Bowland Basin (Northwest England) that reveals a >250 m thick calciturbidite complex deposited in a calciclastic submarine fan setting. Seven facies are recognised from core and thin section characterisation and are grouped into three carbonate turbidite sequences. They include: 1) Calciturbidites, comprising mostly of highto low-density, wavy-laminated bioclast-rich facies; 2) low-density densite mudstones which are characterised by planar laminated and unlaminated muddominated facies; and 3) Calcidebrites which are muddy or hyper-concentrated debrisflow deposits occurring as poorly-sorted, chaotic, mud-supported floatstones. These

Spintronics: Fundamentals and applications

Abstract: Spintronics, or spin electronics, involves the study of active control and manipulation of spin degrees of freedom in solid-state systems. This article reviews the current status of this subject, including both recent advances and well-established results. The primary focus is on the basic physical principles underlying the generation of carrier spin polarization, spin dynamics, and spin-polarized transport in semiconductors and metals. Spin transport differs from charge transport in that spin is a nonconserved quantity in solids due to spin-orbit and hyperfine coupling. The authors discuss in detail spin decoherence mechanisms in metals and semiconductors. Various theories of spin injection and spin-polarized transport are applied to hybrid structures relevant to spin-based devices and fundamental studies of materials properties. Experimental work is reviewed with the emphasis on projected applications, in which external electric and magnetic fields and illumination by light will be used to control spin and charge dynamics to create new functionalities not feasible or ineffective with conventional electronics.

Cavity Optomechanics

Abstract: We review the field of cavity optomechanics, which explores the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and nano- or micromechanical motion This review covers the basics of optical cavities and mechanical resonators, their mutual optomechanical interaction mediated by the radiation pressure force, the large variety of experimental systems which exhibit this interaction, optical measurements of mechanical motion, dynamical backaction amplification and cooling, nonlinear dynamics, multimode optomechanics, and proposals for future cavity quantum optomechanics experiments In addition, we describe the perspectives for fundamental quantum physics and for possible applications of optomechanical devices

Bose-Einstein condensation in a gas of sodium atoms

Abstract: Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) has been observed in a dilute gas of sodium atoms. A Bose-Einstein condensate consists of a macroscopic population of the ground state of the system, and is a coherent state of matter. In an ideal gas, this phase transition is purely quantum-statistical. The study of BEC in weakly interacting systems which can be controlled and observed with precision holds the promise of revealing new macroscopic quantum phenomena that can be understood from first principles.