Transmutation of Skyrmions to Half-Solitons Driven by the Nonlinear Optical Spin Hall Effect

Abstract

We show that the spin domains, generated in the linear optical spin Hall effect by the analog of spin-orbit interaction for exciton polaritons, are associated with the formation of a Skyrmion lattice. In the nonlinear regime, the spin anisotropy of the polariton-polariton interactions results in a spatial compression of the domains and in a transmutation of the Skyrmions into oblique half-solitons. This phase transition is associated with both the focusing of the spin currents and the emergence of a strongly anisotropic emission pattern.