Spin oscillations of a single-mode polariton system driven by a plane wave

Abstract

Theoretical study is performed of a single-mode polariton system with linear coupling of spin components. When combined with an ordinary two-particle interaction, the spin coupling involves a spontaneous symmetry breaking accompanied by a switch from linear to circular polarization under resonant driving. The asymmetric steady states can also lose stability, giving way to oscillatory and chaotic dynamics. Here, we explore a continuous transformation between the multistable regime, where the system is steady and locked in phase to the pump but has a broken spin symmetry, and full-span oscillations of the circular-polarization degree, owing to which the symmetry is effectively reestablished. Such oscillations are analogous to the intrinsic Josephson effect and prove to be robust against arbitrarily strong perturbations. Transitional phenomena include the Hopf bifurcation, spin bistability of limit cycles, and continuous transitions to and from dynamical chaos through series of period doubling/halving events.