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Dynamics of the Berezinskii–Kosterlitz–Thouless transition in a photon fluid

Nature Photonics volume 14, pages 517–522 (2020)Cite this article

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Abstract

In addition to enhancing confinement, restricting optical systems to two dimensions gives rise to new photonic states, modified transport and distinct nonlinear effects. Here we explore these properties in combination and experimentally demonstrate a Berezinskii–Kosterlitz–Thouless phase transition in a nonlinear photonic lattice. In this topological transition, vortices are created in pairs and then unbind, changing the dynamics from that of a photonic fluid to that of a plasma-like gas of free (topological) charges. We explicitly measure the number and correlation properties of free vortices, for both repulsive and attractive interactions (the photonic equivalent of ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic conditions), and confirm the traditional thermodynamics of the Berezinskii–Kosterlitz–Thouless transition. We also suggest a purely fluid interpretation, in which vortices are nucleated by inhomogeneous flow and driven by seeded instability. The results are fundamental to optical hydrodynamics and can impact two-dimensional photonic devices if temperature and interactions are not controlled properly.

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Fig. 1: BKT transition in a nonlinear optical beam.
Fig. 2: Experimental set-up.
Fig. 3: Behaviour of the radial correlation function.
Fig. 4: Direct measurement of vortex number and correlation function.
Fig. 5: Lattice behaviour of the photonic BKT transition.
Fig. 6: Interpretations of lattice dynamics.

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Data availability

The data that support the plots within this paper and other findings of this study are available from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request. Source data are provided with this paper.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (grants FA9550-12-1-0054 and FA9550-14-1-0177), the Chinese Academy of Sciences (grant QYZDB-SSW-JSC002) and Sino-German Center for Sino-German Cooperation Group (grant GZ 1391).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA

    Guohai Situ & Jason W. Fleischer

  2. Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China

    Guohai Situ

  3. Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou, China

    Guohai Situ

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  1. Guohai Situ
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Contributions

G.S. and J.W.F. conceived and designed the experiments. G.S. performed the experiments and simulations. G.S. and J.W.F. analysed the data and contributed to the preparation of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Guohai Situ or Jason W. Fleischer.

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Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

Supplementary discussion and Figs. 1–3.

Supplementary Data

Correlation parameter as a function of Ω.

Source data

Source Data Fig. 3

Raw data for radial correlation function.

Source Data Fig. 4

Raw data for vortex number and correlation function.

Source Data Fig. 5

Raw data for lattice behaviour and power spectra.

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Situ, G., Fleischer, J.W. Dynamics of the Berezinskii–Kosterlitz–Thouless transition in a photon fluid. Nat. Photonics 14, 517–522 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41566-020-0636-7

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