Postdoctoral researcher: Quantum optics in arrays of coupled microcavities H/F

Quantum fluids of light emerge in semiconductor microcavities, where light (photon) and electronic (exciton) excitations can be confined to very small volumes. The resulting high light-matter coupling gives rise to hybrid quasi-particles called polaritons. Polaritons propagate like photons but also interact with the environment through their material part. Unlike conservative systems, such as cold atoms, cavity polaritons are inherently dissipative and can therefore be used to perform quantum simulation of open systems. In addition, quantum correlations between polaritons can be imprinted directly on photons escaping from the system, creating sources of quantum light.
At the heart of this research project are arrays of coupled resonators, which will be fabricated in the C2N clean room. Such cavity arrays enable the engineering of polariton dispersion and thus control of their dynamics. An important challenge will be to induce polariton-polariton interactions strong enough to generate quantum correlations between polaritons. Several ideas will be explored to obtain new cavity structures with optimized optical properties, and featuring active materials to increase interactions between polaritons. The physical properties of these synthetic materials will be probed by optical spectroscopy and by quantum optics measurements at cryogenic temperature. The quantum nature of the generated states will be revealed by measuring spatio-temporal correlations between photons escaping from microcavity networks. This will be done for different dimensions (1D, 2D), and various geometries of the network. We will be particularly interested in cavity arrays with topologically non-trivial band structure, obtained by applying an intense magnetic field to break time reversal symmetry. The platform will provide a unique opportunity to study the interaction between non-linearities, topology, and non-Hermiticity.

A postdoctoral research position (24 months with the possibility of extension) has opened up to conduct experimental research on quantum light fluids at the Centre for Nanosciences and Nanotechnology (C2N, Université Paris-Saclay, France), as part of the ERC ARQADIA project "Artificial Quantum Materials with Photons: N-body Physics and Topology" led by Sylvain Ravets. The overall objective of the project is to study, in arrays of coupled microcavities, the quantum properties of light. The research will be conducted within the C2N (http://www.polaritonquantumfluid.fr) "quantum polariton fluids" team, in close collaboration with Sylvain Ravets and Jacqueline Bloch.

The C2N (Centre for Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies) is a joint research unit between Paris-Saclay University and CNRS, located in Palaiseau. Comprised of approximately 410 people, C2N research themes are photonics, nanoelectronics, materials, microsystems and nanobiofluidics. The open position is within the photonics department, in the GOSS research group, under the supervision of Sylvain Ravets (researcher at CNRS) and in close collaboration with Jacqueline Bloch (research director at CNRS).