Dispersion relation of the collective excitations in a resonantly driven polariton fluid.

Exciton-polaritons in semiconductor microcavities constitute the archetypal realization of a quantum fluid of light. Under coherent optical drive, remarkable effects such as superfluidity, dark solitons or the nucleation of vortices have been observed, and can be all understood as specific manifestations of the condensate collective excitations. In this work, we perform a Brillouin scattering experiment to measure their dispersion relation $$\omega ({\bf{k}})$$ directly. The results, such as a speed of sound which is apparently twice too low, cannot be explained upon considering the polariton condensate alone. In a combined theoretical and experimental analysis, we demonstrate that the presence of an excitonic reservoir alongside the polariton condensate has a dramatic influence on the characteristics of the quantum fluid, and explains our measurement quantitatively. This work clarifies the role of such a reservoir in polariton quantum hydrodynamics. It also provides an unambiguous tool to determine the condensate-to-reservoir fraction in the quantum fluid, and sets an accurate framework to approach ideas for polariton-based quantum-optical applications. Owing to its driven-dissipative nature, and its solid-state environment, a resonantly driven polariton condensate can be accompanied by an incoherent reservoir of excitons. Stepanov et al. demonstrate that this situation strongly modifies the spectrum of collective excitations, which determines many quantum hydrodynamic features in a polariton fluid.