Quantum fluids of light in 2D artificial reconfigurable aperiodic crystals with tailored coupling

Aperiodic crystals

, Crystals with long-range order but no repeating translational symmetry

Periodic crystalline matter

Solids where the atomic arrangement repeats regularly in space

Amorphous solids

Solids (like glass) that lack long-range periodic order

Translational symmetry

Property of a structure that looks the same when shifted by certain distances

Long-range order

Correlation in atomic or structural arrangement that extends across large distances

Spectrum (physics context)

Distribution of allowed energy states (electronic, photonic, etc.) in a system

Localization properties,

How wave-like phenomena (like electrons or photons) are spatially confined or spread out

Exciton-polariton

Hybrid quasiparticle formed by coupling a photon with an exciton (electron–hole pair)

Condensation (of exciton-polaritons)

Transition where many exciton-polaritons occupy the same quantum state forming coherence

Penrose tiling

A two-dimensional tiling pattern that covers space without periodic repetition but with order

C10 rotational symmetry

Symmetry under rotation by 36° (1/10 of a circle)

Quasicrystalline order

Structural order with long-range correlations but no periodic repetition

Quantum fluid of light

Collective state of light-like particles behaving as a fluid with quantum properties

Regime (physics)

A specific set of conditions where certain physical behaviors dominate

Delocalization

Spread of wavefunctions over large spatial regions instead of being confined

Synchronization (of quantum fluids)

Alignment of oscillation phases in different condensates for collective coherence

Mesoscopic length scales

Sizes between microscopic (atomic) and macroscopic (visible) often nano–micro scale

Healing length

Characteristic scale over which a condensate or superfluid “repairs” density disturbances

Condensate

A localized region where particles form a coherent quantum state

Reconfigurable quasicrystals

Quasicrystals whose patterns can be externally tuned or altered

Nonlinear (quantum fluids)

Systems where output is not proportional to input often due to interactions

Open-dissipative (quantum fluids)

Quantum fluids that exchange energy or particles with the environment and lose energy

Artificial defects

Man-made disruptions introduced to study effects on structure or behavior

Phase synchronization

Alignment of quantum phases of multiple condensates producing coherence

Unconventional settings

Contexts outside typical periodic crystals (e.g. quasicrystals aperiodic materials)