Topological excitation of exciton-polariton half-vortices and skyrmions in a magnetic field with TE-TM splitting

Abstract

We explore the topological generation of skyrmions and half-vortices in a uniform spinor exciton-polariton condensate featuring TE-TM splitting and exposed to an external magnetic field. The manipulation of pump intensity and magnetic field enables precise control over the spin texture and integrated winding number. Specifically, under an excitation condition where the power applied to the vortex state surpasses that on the non-vortex state by an amount dictated by the magnetic field, skyrmions emerge. These skyrmions exhibit a distinctive spin texture characterized by a circular polarization inversion extending from the center to the periphery. Conversely, reversing the excitation condition, where the power on the vortex state is diminished with the reversal of the magnetic field direction, leads to the creation of half-vortices across the entire condensate, devoid of any circular polarization inversion. In additional to the skyrmions and half-vortices, half-skyrmions can be also generated in the same configuration without magnetic field.