Anchetti PhDThesis

Pattern-forming in
Non-equilibrium Quantum
Systems and Geometrical Models
of Matter
Guido Franchetti
Robinson College
Dissertation submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

September 2013
Declaration
This dissertation is the result of my own work and includes nothing which is the
outcome of work done in collaboration, except where specifically indicated in the
text. No part of this dissertation has been previously submitted for a degree or
any other qualification.
Guido Franchetti
i
Summary
Pattern-forming in Non-equilibrium Quantum Systems

and Geometrical Models of Matter
Guido Franchetti
This thesis is divided in two parts. The first one is devoted to the dynamics of po-
lariton condensates, with particular attention to their pattern-forming capabilities.
In many configurations of physical interest, the dynamics of polariton condensates
can be modelled by means of a non-linear PDE which is strictly related to the
Gross-Pitaevskii and the complex Ginzburg-Landau equations. Numerical simula-
tions of this equation are used to investigate the robustness of the rotating vortex
lattice which is predicted to spontaneously form in a non-equilibrium trapped con-
densate. An idea for a polariton-based gyroscope is then presented. The device
relies on peculiar properties of non-equilibrium condensates — the possibility of
controlling the vortex emission mechanism and the use of pumping strength as a
control parameter —and improves on existing proposals for superfluid-based gy-
roscopes. Finally, the important rôle played by quantum pressure in the recently
observed transition from a phase-locked but freely flowing condensate to a spatially
trapped one is discussed. The second part of this thesis presents work done in the
context of the geometrical models of matter framework, which aims to describe
particles in terms of 4-dimensional manifolds. Conserved quantum numbers of par-
ticles are encoded in the topology of the manifold, while dynamical quantities are
to be described in terms of its geometry. Two infinite families of manifolds, namely
ALF gravitational instantons of types Ak and Dk , are investigated as possible mod-
els for multi-particle systems. On the basis of their topological and geometrical
properties it is concluded that Ak can model a system of k ` 1 electrons, and Dk
a system of a proton and k ´ 1 electrons. Energy functionals which successfully
reproduce the Coulomb interaction energy, and in one case also the rest masses, of
these particle systems are then constructed in terms of the area and Gaussian cur-
vature of preferred representatives of middle dimension homology. Finally, an idea
for constructing multi-particle models by gluing single-particle ones is discussed.
ii
Acknowledgements
First and foremost I would like to thank my supervisor Natalia Berloff for her
invaluable support and guidance throughout my PhD and Nick Manton for his
precious advice in so many deeply stimulating discussions. Without their help this
thesis would not have been written.
I could not have gone through the difficult moments of my PhD without the
help of my parents Carlo and Adriana and of my friends.
I am deeply grateful to my girlfriend Maria Alessandra who supported and
encouraged me when I was at my worst.
Finally I would like to thank Marie Curie Actions for financial support, Robin-
son College for its wonderful atmosphere and Cambridge for being such an excep-
tional and inspiring place.
iii
Contents
Declaration i
Summary ii
Acknowledgements iii
Contents iv
1 Introduction 1
I Polaritons 7
2 Background Material 8
2.1 The Physical System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.2 A Mathematical Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
2.3 Some Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
2.4 Vortices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3 Spontaneous Rotating Vortex Lattices and Their Robustness 53

3.1 Vortex Array . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
3.2 Stability Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
3.3 Robustness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
4 Polariton Gyroscope 74
4.1 The Apparatus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
4.2 Effects of the External Potential . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
4.3 The Model in 2D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
5 Influence of the Pumping Geometry on the Dynamics 85

5.1 A Quantum Harmonic Oscillator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
5.2 Multiple Pumps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
iv
Contents v
II Geometrical Models of Matter 95
6 Background Material 96
6.1 Geometrical Preliminaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
6.2 Geometric Models of Matter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
6.3 Gravitational Instantons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
7 Asymptotic Topology and Charge 115

7.1 Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
7.2 Ak´1 and Dk Charge and Particle Interpretation . . . . . . . . . . 125
8 Geometry and Energy 133

8.1 A Yang-Mills Functional on Ak´1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
8.2 Komar Mass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
8.3 Area and Gaussian Curvature of Minimal 2-cycles . . . . . . . . . . 141
9 A Model Under Construction 149

9.1 A Discussion of the Hypotheses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
9.2 Gluing Particles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
9.3 Relations with Kaluza-Klein Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
III Appendices 158
A Polaritons 159
A.1 Excitation Spectrum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
A.2 Madelung Transformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
A.3 Dimensionless Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
A.4 Some Details on the Numerical Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
B Geometric Models of Matter 167

B.1 Topological Invariants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
B.2 Equivalence of Charge Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170
B.3 Principal Bundles, Connection and Curvature . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
B.4 Calculation of R and ||R||2 for Ak´1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Chapter 1
Introduction
In this thesis I present work falling into two different areas. The first one is the
dynamics of exciton-polariton condensates, with particular attention to vortex dy-
namics and pattern formation. The second one is the use of ALF (Asymptotically
Locally Flat) gravitational instantons as models for multi-particle systems accord-
ing to the recent geometrical approach to particle physics [6], which I will refer to
as the geometric models of matter framework.
These topics are undoubtedly far apart from each other. Exciton-polariton con-
densates1 , briefly polaritons condensates, are 2-dimensional systems characterised
by a high degree of spatial and temporal coherence due to multi-body effects and
the bosonic nature of polaritons. They are non-equilibrium systems since the con-
stituent quasi-particles have a finite lifetime.
The geometric models of matter framework aims to describe the properties
of elementary particles rather then emergent collective behaviour and applies to
systems with few degrees of freedom. Particles are modelled by geometrical ob-
jects, Riemannian 4-manifolds with a particular topology and geometry of which
ALF gravitational instantons are a specific example. Dynamics has not yet been
incorporated in the picture, but is expected to be of conservative relativistic type.
There are, however, some similarities. First, in both cases the system is de-
scribed by a classical field. In the case of polariton condensates, we are inter-
ested in the dynamics of the ground state. Since this is macroscopically occupied,
one can neglect its quantum nature and describe it in terms of a complex-valued
scalar field obeying a partial differential equation similar to the complex Ginzburg-
Landau equation. In the case of ALF gravitational instantons, the relevant field
is the metric tensor.
Second, in both cases we are interested in the study of localised, persistent
structures having a non-trivial topology. In the case of polariton condensates,
we will be interested in the dynamics and pattern-forming properties of vortices.
In the geometrical models of matter framework we will consider manifolds, ALF
1
There is some debate on whether the terminology is appropriate, see section 2.1.2.
1
Chapter 1. Introduction 2
gravitational instantons, which model not just particles, but also the empty space
in which the particles reside. These manifolds need therefore to reduce to flat
space at large distances from the particles cores but to have a non-trivial structure
where particles are located.
Both vortices and instantons are examples of topological solitons. In order to
give a precise definition of a topological solitons one needs to refer to a particular
theory. Generally speaking topological solitons are finite energy field configurations
which are solutions of the dynamical equations of the theory and have a topological
structure different from that of the vacuum.2 Energetically cheap modifications of
a given field configuration are localised and cannot change its topology, therefore
solitons cannot decay into simpler structures and exhibit a remarkable stability and
a particle-like behaviour. In order to have a finite energy, the field usually needs
to approach a constant value at large distances, which explains the localisation
properties of solitons. Examples of topological solitons are kinks in 1D, vortices in
2D, monopoles in 3D and instantons in 4D. The qualitative features of topological
solitons are quite independent from the details of the theory.
For non-equilibrium system, it is arguably not correct to use the term soliton.
However, there are structures, for example vortices, which behave very similarly
to their equilibrium counterparts. While a notion of energy is not well defined,
it remains true that in order to destroy a non-trivial topological structure it is
necessary to modify the global, rather then local, configuration of a field. Such
changes do not occur easily and so topological solitons tend to be stable also in
the non-equilibrium context.
The topological solitons which we will be interested in are vortices in polariton
condensates and gravitational instantons. In the case of vortices the non-trivial
topology is due to the fact that the complex scalar field has non-zero winding
number along curves which go around the centre of the vortex. ALF gravita-
tional instantons have generally non-trivial middle dimensions homology groups
and approach asymptotically a non-trivial circle fibration.
There is however a difference between these two areas which is even more dif-
ficult to overcome then those listed so far. The study of polariton condensates
2
Sometimes the term soliton is used to denote only finite energy solutions of integrable sys-
tems. Following [59] we use the term in its broader acception.
was initiated around 2006, when condensation was first achieved [51]. Despite its
youngness, the field has experienced a rapid development, favoured by the rela-
tively high condensation temperature of polaritons and the elevated degree of ex-
perimental control that they offer. Experimental and theoretical advance has been
fast, and the problems investigated have progressed from the mere achievement of
condensation to detailed questions about the behaviour of polariton condensates
under particular trapping or pumping geometries.
On the other hand, the idea of describing particles by means of 4-dimensional
manifolds, while being inspired by older ideas like the Kaluza-Klein model, is nearly
newborn, the first paper having been published in 2012. Moreover, its aim is not
to describe a newly found state of matter, as in the case of polariton condensates,
which lie somewhere in between Bose-Einstein condensates and lasers, but to offer
a new perspective on a subject, particle physics, which already has a theoretical
framework of astonishing precision, quantum field theory. The model has been
proposed not so much to improve on this precision, but rather in the hope that
a different viewpoint could lead to new ideas, provide a better understanding of
what particles are and maybe solve some of the longstanding problems of quantum
field theory.
Different aims call for different methods. In the polariton area my work has
been focused on understanding, mainly by means of numerical simulations, the be-
haviour of polariton condensates in configurations of experimental interest. In my
work on gravitational instantons I have investigated whether two specific families
are appropriate models for multi-particle systems, and I have constructed suitable
energy functionals out of their topological and geometrical properties.
For these reasons, I have decided not to try a parallel treatment of my work in
the two areas, nor to force the use of a common language or of a similar notation,
as I felt that doing so would have obscured the subject and led to no additional
insight. Instead, I have split the thesis in two parts, one devoted to polaritons,
and the other to gravitational instantons.
Having, I hope, justified the division in two parts, let me describe the content of
each one. The first part is concerned with polariton condensates. My own results
are presented in section 3.3, chapter 4 and section 5.2. Chapter 3 discusses the
spontaneous formation of a rotating vortex lattice in a trapped polariton conden-
sate and its robustness. This chapter is based on joint work published in [14], which
builds on previous work presented in [52]. My own contribution to [14] has been
the numerical investigation of the robustness of the system against various kinds
of perturbations and is presented in section 3.3. Chapter 4 shows how the suscep-
tibility of polariton condensates to nucleate vortices if some instability threshold
is reached can be used to build an apparatus capable of measuring absolute an-
gular velocities. A preprint illustrating this idea is on the arXiv [35]. Chapter 5
describes joint work published in [26] showing how the behaviour of a polariton
condensate is influenced by the geometry and number of spots at which polaritons
are injected. I have contributed to the theoretical understanding of the system and
performed all the numerical simulations. Chapter 2 contains background material.
The second part is concerned with gravitational instantons. My results are
presented in section 7.2, chapter 8 and chapter 9. Chapter 7 is devoted to the
calculation of the electric charge and to the particle interpretation of ALF Ak´1
and ALF Dk gravitational instantons. Chapter 8 presents various attempts at the
construction of an energy functional for these manifolds. Both chapters are based
on results published in [36] but contain additional material. Chapter 7 includes,
see section 7.1, a thorough explanation of the topological definition of electric
charge. Chapter 8 contains, see sections 8.1 and 8.2, some less successful but still
interesting constructions which were excluded from the published paper. Chapter
9 is devoted to a more general discussion of the current status of the geometric
models of matter framework and of some possible evolutions. Section 9.1 contains
a critical discussion of the hypothesis made in [6]. Section 9.2 presents an idea,
still at a preliminary stage, for building multi-particle systems by gluing together
single-particle ones. Section 9.3 is devoted to a brief comparison with Kaluza-
Klein theory. Chapter 6 contains background material; in particular section 6.2
gives a short review of the geometric models of matter framework as presented in
[6]. Other background material has been put in the appendices.
This Thesis in Brief
For reference we give below a short description of the original material presented
in this thesis and, if published, of where it can be found.
Chapter 3: The instability of stationary circularly symmetric solutions of a
modified Gross-Pitaevskii equation, used to model a polariton condensate, against
perturbations carrying angular momentum is proved analytically. The robustness
of the rotating vortex lattice which forms, as predicted in previous work [52], as
a result of this instability is numerically probed against elliptic deformations of
the trap, presence of disorder and changes in the modelling equation. The results
presented in this chapter have been published in [14].
Chapter 4: The idea and basic setup for a polariton gyroscope capable of high-
precision measurements of angular velocities is proposed. The apparatus is based
on the peculiar properties of polariton condensates, namely the easy experimental
control of many of their properties, their susceptibility to vortex formation and
their high condensation temperature. The idea is illustrated by the numerical and
analytical investigation of a simplified 1D model and by numerical investigation of
the full 2D model. A preprint of the material presented in this chapter is available
on arXiv [35].
Chapter 6: As shown in recent experiments, the polariton condensate which
forms if polaritons are injected at different spatial locations arranged along a circle
exhibits very different dynamical behaviours depending on the number of pumps
and the radius of the circle. In particular, as the radius of the circle is increased,
there is a transition from a fully trapped state to a configuration in which the con-
densates forming at different spots are still locked in phase, but polaritons outflow
is observed and the condensate density is concentrated at the edge of the trap.
This chapter illustrates the experimental results and gives a theoretical explana-
tion of the observed behaviour, based on the rôle played by quantum pressure. The
material presented here is based on a collaboration with the experimental group
of J. Baumberg, and has been published in [26].
Chapter 7: Working within the framework proposed in [6], two infinite families
of 4-manifolds, ALF gravitational instantons of types Ak and Dk , are investigated
as possible models for multi-particle systems. Their electric charge is calculated.
For Ak this amounts to computing minus the first Chern number of the asymptotic
circle fibration. For Dk , owing to the fact that the asymptotic fibration is not
oriented, we need to make use of a different but equivalent definition, which in
turn implies that charge can be calculated as minus one half of the first Chern
number of a branched double cover. The particle interpretation of these manifolds
is also discussed. The results presented in chapters 7 and 8 have been published
in [36].
Chapter 8: Geometrical properties of the ALF gravitational instantons intro-
duced in chapter 7 are used to construct energy functionals for the corresponding
multi-particle systems. In particular, an extension of the Komar mass to the Rie-
mannian signature and a Yang-Mills-like functional are first considered, but lead
to energy functionals independent of the particles positions and thus not suitable
to represent interaction energies. Functionals constructed in terms of the area and
the Gaussian curvature of geometrically preferred (minimal area) representatives
of middle dimension homology are then investigated, and shown to successfully
reproduce the Coulomb interaction energies of the corresponding particle systems.
With the exception of the Komar mass and Yang-Mills constructions, the results
presented in this chapter have been published in [36].
Chapter 9: On the basis of the material presented in chapters 7 and 8, some
ideas for future developments, including a construction, still at a preliminary stage,
which could allow to build multi-particle models from single-particle ones making
use of a particular compactification process, are discussed.
Part I
Polaritons
7
Chapter 2
Background Material
This chapter presents some background material on polariton condensates. Sec-

tion 2.1 describes the physical properties of polaritons and briefly discusses the
controversial issue of their Bose-Einstein condensation. The purpose here is not to
give a comprehensive, up-to-date review of the debate, but rather to establish that,
under some conditions, polaritons show enough coherence to allow for a descrip-
tion in terms of a classic complex scalar field ψ. Section 2.2 introduces a partial
differential equation for ψ, closely related to the complex Ginzburg-Landau equa-
tion, which, with minor variations, will be used in chapters 3, 4 and 5 to model
the behaviour of polariton condensates. Section 2.4 reviews some material about
vortices in non-linear fields.
2.1 The Physical System

2.1.1 Polaritons
Excitons-polaritons, shortly polaritons, are quantum superpositions of excitons
and photons. An exciton is a bound system of an electron and a hole, held together
by electromagnetic interactions.
In a semiconductor, an exciton can be created exciting an electron from the
valence band into the conduction band by shining light in resonance with the
transition frequency. The electron leaves a hole, a region of positive electrical
charge, in the valence band, and it is energetically favourable for the electron-hole
pair to form a bound system, an exciton.
The electron-hole pair can recombine by emitting a photon. Therefore there is a
continuous interconversion between excitons and photons. However, since photons
cannot be perfectly confined, they eventually leave the system. Strong coupling
occurs when the exciton-photon interconversion rate is higher than the rate at
which photons escape from the system. In strong-coupling regime, photons and
excitons somehow lose their individual identities, and the appropriate description
8
Chapter 2. Background Material 9
is in term of their quantum superpositions, polaritons.

Polaritons exist in bulk systems, but polariton condensation has only been
achieved with microcavity polaritons. A semiconductor microcavity, see figure 2.1,
consists of two distributed Bragg reflectors, alternate layers of quarter-wavelength
Quantum wells
Bragg reflectors
Figure 2.1: Cartoon of a semiconductor microcavity. Bragg reflectors, made of

alternate layers of materials with different dielectric constants (red and yellow
parallelepipeds), trap photons (wavy line) inside the cavity. In order to maximise
exciton-photon coupling, bound electron-hole pairs (red and blue dots) are trapped
in quantum wells (grey parallelepiped) placed at the antinodes of the photon cavity
modes.
materials with different dielectric constants, which confine photons inside the cav-
ity acting as high-quality mirrors over a limited range of light frequencies. The
better the quality of the cavity, the longer photons are confined, the longer po-
laritons live. For most experimental setups, the lifetime of polaritons is 5–10 ps.
Cavities of an improved quality have been built recently, allowing for lifetimes up
to about 100 ps [67].
Photons are confined in the direction transverse to the line joining the two
mirrors, so their transverse wave vector kK is quantised, |kK | “ kK “ 2πN {L,
with N an integer and L the transverse length of the cavity. The cavity photons
dispersion relation is then
~c
b
~ωγ “ k 2 ` kK2 , (2.1)
n
where n is the refraction index of the material, c is the speed of light, k is the in-
plane wave vector (i.e. the projection of the momentum wave vector on the plane
where polaritons are confined) and k “ |k|. For small k,
~2 k 2
~ωγ „ ~ω0 ` , (2.2)
2mγ
where
2πcN nN
ω0 “ , mγ “ 2π~ , (2.3)
nL cL
with mγ the effective mass of the photon. For most materials mγ „ 10´4 me , with
me the electron mass. The length L of the cavity, typically a few micrometres, is
chosen so that ω0 |N “1 is equal to the frequency needed to excite an electron from
the conduction to the valence band.
Inside the cavity, excitons are confined in quantum wells, quasi-2D potential
wells. In order to maximise exciton-photon coupling, quantum wells are placed at
antinodes of the electromagnetic field, where the density of photons is highest.
The strong screening of Coulomb interactions in semiconductors results in
loosely bound excitons, known as Wanner-Mott excitons, which extend over a
spatial scale larger than the crystal lattice constant. As a consequence, the ef-
fects of the lattice potential on Wanner-Mott excitons can be taken into account
by treating them like free particles with an effective mass mex . The dispersion
relation is then
p2
~ωex “ ` , (2.4)
2mex
where is a constant and p is the exciton momentum. For most materials, mex is
in the range 0.1–1 me , much bigger than the photon effective mass, and „ 1.5
eV.
The dispersion relation of polaritons can be found by solving the coupled sta-
tionary Schrödinger equation

˜ ¸˜ ¸ ˜ ¸
~ωγ g{2 ψγ ψγ
“ Eup{lp , (2.5)
g{2 ψex ψex
where g is the interconversion rate between photons and excitons and we have
approximated the excitons energy (2.4) with just the constant term . Solving
(2.5) we get
» fi
˙ dˆ ˙2
~k ~k
ˆ 2 2 2 2
1
Eup{lp “ – ~ω0 ` ` ˘ ~ω0 ´ ` ` g 2 fl . (2.6)
2 2mγ 2mγ
Considered as functions of k, Eup and Elp , are usually called the upper polariton
E HeVL
1.55
Eup
1.53 Elp
Eex
1.51
EΓ
∆
1.49
k HΜm-1 L
-2 -1 1 2
Figure 2.2: Upper (Eup ) and lower (Elp ) polariton branches, exciton (Eex ) and
cavity photon (Eγ ) dispersion curves for positive detuning δ. The black dots mark
the inflection points in the lower polariton branch. Note how the heavy exciton
mass results in a flat exciton dispersion curve. The curves Eup and Elp have been
plotted for the lowest energy transverse photonic modes, i.e. taking N “ 1 in (2.3).
For low energy polaritons the contribution of higher N modes can be neglected.
branch and the lower polariton branch, see figure 2.2. The difference Eup p0q ´
Elp p0q “ 2g is known as Rabi splitting. The difference δ “ ~ω0 ´ between the
bottom of the photon and exciton dispersion curves is called detuning, and can be
positive, negative or zero.

The LP branch has a cavity-photon-like character for low k:
~2 k 2 a 2 ~ω0 ´ ~2 k 2
„ ˆ ˙
1
Elp » ` ~ω0 ` 2
´ γ ` p~ω0 ´ q 1 ´ 2
2 2mγ γ ` p~ω0 ´ q2 2mγ
“ A ` Bk 2 , with
1 a (2.7)
A “ p~ω0 ` q ´ γ 2 ` p~ω0 ´ q2 ,
2
˜ ¸
~ω0 ´ ~2
B “ 1` a .
γ 2 ` p~ω0 ´ q2 2 ¨ 2mγ
The effective mass of low-energy polaritons is of the order of the photon mass,
m “ 2mγ „ 2 ¨ 10´4 me . (2.8)
For larger |k|, the LP branch has two inflection points, marked with dots in
figure 2.2, where the effective mass of polaritons
ˆ ˙´1
B 2 Elp
m“~ 2
(2.9)
Bk 2
changes sign. This has important consequences on the dynamics, see section 2.2.1
for some discussion.
For high k, the LP branch approaches the exciton dispersion, and the effective
mass of polaritons becomes equal to that of excitons. In a sense, the lower polariton
branch interpolates between photon-like and exciton-like behaviour. More details
on polaritons can be found in [53] and references therein.
2.1.2 To Condense or not To Condense

Polaritons are bound state of photons and spin one excitons and, at low enough
densities1 , behave as bosons. Therefore, below some critical temperature, polari-
tons are expected to undergo Bose-Einstein condensation. However the question of
1
The density is low enough if nex pa0 qd ! 1, where a0 is the Bohr radius and nex the number
density of excitons, and d the dimensionality of the system. If this condition is not satisfied,
electrons and holes undergo a Mott transition, unbinding and forming an electron-hole plasma.
polariton condensation is not a straightforward one, and is still the object of many
a heated discussion. Here I review some facts about traditional Bose-Einstein
condensation and mention some of the more complicated issues that arise when
considering low-dimensional, non-homogeneous or non-equilibrium systems.
A review of Bose-Einstein condensation
This section presents a quick review of some aspects, focusing on the easiest case:
a 3D system of non-interacting bosons. A good reference for equilibrium Bose-
Einstein condensation is [74].
A 3D non-interacting spatially uniform Bose system (ideal Bose gas) undergoes
Bose-Einstein condensation at the critical temperature
ˆ ˙2{3
2π~2 n
kB Tc “ , (2.10)
m g3{2 p1q
where m is the mass of the Bose gas constituents, n is the number density and
g3{2 p1q „ 2.61 [74]. For T ă Tc , a macroscopic number of particles condenses in the
zero momentum state. For an ideal Bose gas, all the particles are in the condensate
for T “ 0. As we will see, this macroscopic occupation of a single-particle state
allows for a description of the system in terms of a complex scalar field ψpxq.
At the microscopic level, a stationary state of a system of N bosons is described
by the many-body Schrödinger equation
Hpx1 , . . . , xN q ψpx1 , . . . , xN q “ E ψpx1 , . . . , xN q, (2.11)
where ψpx1 . . . , xN q is a many-body wave function and the Hamiltonian H is of

the form
N ˆ
∇2i
˙
ÿ 1ÿ
Hpx1 . . . , xN q “ ´ ` Vext pxi q ` U p|xi ´ xj |qq. (2.12)
i“1
2m 2 i‰j
Here U is the inter-particle potential and Vext an external potential.

In the second quantisation formalism, an equivalent but often more convenient
description can be given in terms of a quantised field ψ̂pxq [48]. Let |ψEN y be an
N -particles eigenstate with energy E, and ψEN px1 , . . . , xN q be the corresponding

eigenfunction,
ψEN px1 , . . . , xN q “ xx1 . . . xN |ψEN y, (2.13)
with ψEN px1 . . . , xN q satisfying (2.11). The wave function ψEN px1 , . . . xN q can be
expressed in terms of a quantised field ψ̂pxq as
1
ψEN px1 . . . xN q “ ? x0|ψ̂px1 q . . . ψ̂pxN q|ψEN y. (2.14)
N!
Total symmetry of the wave function under the exchange of two particles is auto-
matically accounted for provided that the field ψ̂pxq satisfies the canonical bosonic
commutation rules, ” ı
ψ̂pxq, ψ̂ px q “ δpx ´ x1 q.
: 1
(2.15)
In the second quantisation formalism, the Hamiltonian Ĥ and particle number

N̂ operators are given by
~2 2
ż ˆ ˙
:
Ĥ “ dx ψ̂ pxq ´ ∇ ` Vext pxq ψ̂pxq
2m
ż (2.16)
1
` dx1 dx2 ψ̂ : px1 qψ̂ : px2 qU p|x1 ´ x2 |qψ̂px2 qψ̂px1 q,
2
ż
N̂ “ dx ψ̂ : pxqψ̂pxq. (2.17)
In writing (2.16) we have assumed that the system is dilute enough to consider only
two-body interactions. Since Ĥ and N̂ commute, they admit common eigenstates.
The field ψ̂pxq is a common eigenstate as
” ı
ψ̂pxq, N̂ “ ψ̂pxq, (2.18)
” ı ˆ ~2 ż ˙
2 1 : 1 1 1
ψ̂pxq, Ĥ “ ´ ∇ ` Vext pxq ` dx ψ̂ px qU p|x ´ x|qψ̂px q ψ̂pxq. (2.19)
2m
It is convenient to expand ψ̂pxq in terms of a complete system of orthonormal

single-particle wave functions ua pxq. For simplicity let us consider the case of a
spatially uniform system of free bosons, U “ Vext “ 0. Working in a finite volume,

a cube of side L, and imposing periodic boundary condition, we can take
ˆ ˙
1 i
ua pxq “ ? exp p¨x , (2.20)
L3 ~
with p “ 2π~ a{L, a “ pa1 , a2 , a3 q, ai P N, and expand ψ̂pxq as
3 8
1 ÿ ÿ
ψ̂pxq “ ? ua pxqâa . (2.21)
L3 i“1 ai “0
The operators âa , â:a have the usual interpretation of annihilation and creation
operators for a particle in the quantum state |ay and satisfy the commutation
rules
” ı ” ı ” ı
aa , ab “ a:a , a:b “ 0, aa , a:b “ δa,b , (2.22)
with δa,b “ δa1 ,b1 δa2 ,b2 δa3 ,b3 . The operator n̂a “ â:a âa counts the number na of
particles in the state |ay.
For a system of free bosons, the particles condense in the ground state |0y.
The average occupation number n0 , where denotes the average over the grand-
canonical ensemble, of the ground state is, for T ď Tc , proportional to 1´pT {Tc q3{2
[74]. For T ! Tc , the ground state is macroscopically occupied and, to leading
order, we can neglect all the higher energy states in the expansion (2.21), so that
ψ̂pxq „ u0 pxqâ0 . Moreover,
” ı
â0 â:0 |ψy “ â0 , â:0 |ψy ` n̂0 |ψy “ p1 ` n0 q|ψy » n0 |ψy “ â:0 â0 |ψy, (2.23)
having used n0 ` 1 „ n0 as n0 " 1 (macroscopic occupation). Therefore, we

can forget the non-commutativity of â:0 and â0 and treat u0 pxqâ0 as a complex
scalar field ψpxq, known as the order parameter of the condensate. The reason for
this name is the fact that ψpxq changes from zero to a spatially dependent value
different from zero as T is lowered below Tc , signalling the emergence of an ordered
phase of the system. The word “parameter” in the name “order parameter” is
unfortunate since ψpxq is actually a function.

Alternatively, ψpxq can be identified with the statistical average of ψ̂pxq in
the grand-canonical ensemble. Since the averaging procedure involves taking the
expectation value of ψ̂pxq over states with a different number of particles, one
would expect it to be zero. The fact that it does not vanish is ultimately due to
the spontaneous symmetry breaking of the U p1q gauge invariance of the theory
(the conserved quantity associated with this gauge invariance being the particle
number), and a signature of the presence of a condensate, see [48] for more details.
The fact that a macroscopic portion of the system is described by a single
wave function results in high spatial and temporal coherence. For example, the
off-diagonal density matrix element
ρ1 px, x1 q “ ψ̂ : px1 qψ̂pxq (2.24)
approaches a finite nonzero value in the limit |x ´ x1 | Ñ 8, a phenomenon known

as long-range order.2
For simplicity we have discussed the case of a gas of free bosons, but the
analysis can be extended to more complicated systems. For example, a system
of weakly interacting bosons still shows long-range order and accumulates in a
single-particle state at a finite non-zero temperature. However, the quantitative
details are different, for example even at T “ 0 not all the particles are in the
condensate.
Let us now derive the equation of motion for the order parameter of a system of
weakly interacting bosons, which we will need later. Abusing notation, we denote
the field operator ψ̂pxq in the Heisenberg picture by ψ̂px, tq. It evolves according
to the equation
B ψ̂px, tq ” ı
i~ “ ψ̂px, tq, Ĥ . (2.25)
Bt
2
The averaging process is quite subtle because of the spontaneous symmetry breaking. In
order to evaluate (2.24) it is necessary to couple the system to an external field and take first
the thermodynamic limit and then the limit of the external field going to zero. The situation is
similar to what happens in the case of the spontaneous magnetisation of a ferromagnet.
Using (2.19),
~2 2
” ı ˆ ż ˙
1 : 1 1 1
ψ̂px, tq, Ĥ “ ´ ∇ ` Vext pxq ` dx ψ̂ px , tqU p|x ´ x|qψ̂px , tq ψ̂px, tq
2m
(2.26)
As we have seen, for a condensate we can replace ψ̂px, tq with its average, the
classical field ψpx, tq. Because interactions are weak, in (2.16) we can replace the
two-body potential U p|x1 ´ x2 |q with the hard-sphere one g δp|x1 ´ x2 |q. The pa-
rameter g is related to the s-wave scattering length a by the relation g “ 4πa~2 {m.
The equation of motion for ψpx, tq is then
~2 2
„ 
Bψpx, tq 2
i~ “ ´ ∇ ` Vext pxq ` g|ψpx, tq| ψpx, tq, (2.27)
Bt 2m
known as the Gross-Pitaevskii equation (GPe), or as the non-linear Schrödinger

equation. Alternatively, we could have obtained GPe by replacing the quantum
commutator in (2.25) with the classical Poisson brackets.
The Problem of Condensation for Polaritons Systems
In more complicated cases there are a number of issues to be taken into account.
They have to do with the dimensionality of the system, spatial inhomogeneities
and non-equilibrium.
The Coleman-Mermin-Wagner theorem [25, 60] states that no spontaneous
symmetry breaking can occur at T ą 0 in an infinite homogeneous system of
dimension D which has a continuous symmetry if D ď 2. The reason is that for
D ď 2 fluctuations of the massless modes associated with the broken symmetry
(Goldstone modes) have infrared divergences which destroy long-range order.
However in a homogeneous 2D system a different kind of order is possible. In
fact, as the temperature is lowered, there is a transition, the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-
Thouless (BKT) transition [11, 55], from a state populated by unbound vortices3
to a state where vortices form tightly-bound pairs. In the lower temperature phase
the system exhibits quasi-long-range order, that is a power-law decay of the off-
3
Above a certain temperature creation of vortices becomes favourable as it lowers the free
energy of the system.
diagonal single-particle density matrix at large distances.

The behaviour of an inhomogeneous system can be very different. For example,
a trapped non-interacting 2D Bose system undergoes Bose-Einstein condensation
at a non-zero temperature [8]. The interacting case is particularly complicated
and not totally understood, see [75] for more details.
All the issues that we have mentioned are relevant in the case of polariton
condensates which are 2D interacting systems, generally inhomogeneous. Inho-
mogeneities can be due to trapping potentials, disorder, or finite-size effects. To
further complicate the situation, the finite lifetime of polaritons prevents the sys-
tem from reaching a complete thermal equilibrium.
In order to consider the thermalisation problem, we need first to briefly discuss
how polariton condensates are created in experiments. Of the various possible tech-
niques [53], we are interested in the incoherent or non-resonant pumping, where
a population of hot excitons is created by shining a laser on the microcavity. In
the cooling down process, excitons undergo multiple exciton-exciton and exciton-
phonon scattering events, totally losing coherence. Above some power threshold,
the system enters the strong-coupling regime and the rate of creation of new polari-
tons exceeds the loss rate due to photons escaping from the system. A polariton
population then builds up and subsequently cools off and condenses. Since the
initial polariton population is incoherent, any coherence developed by the system
must be the result of the condensation process.
In order for the condensate to form, the exciton population needs to lower its
temperature, a process known as cooling, and to establish a uniform temperature, a
process known as thermalisation. Both processes take place via polariton-polariton
and polariton-other-particles, notably phonons, interactions. Because of energy
and momentum conservation, only phonons with very low energies can be emitted
in the process, and the time needed to obtain a thermal distribution is longer
then the lifetime of polaritons. This leads to an accumulation of polaritons at the
inflection points of the LP branch, where the spectrum changes from exciton-like
to photon-like, and to a very non-thermal polariton distribution.
Experimental and theoretical progress [31, 58] showed that higher polaritons
densities combined with a slight positive detuning (which makes polaritons in the
LP branch more exciton-like) increases the efficiency of polaritons interactions
leading to a faster thermalisation process. Overcome the thermalisation problem,

polariton condensation, intended as macroscopic occupation of a single-particle
state and long-range spatial coherence, see figures 2.3 and 2.4, was first obtained
in 2006 [51].
Figure 2.3: This is image is taken from [51]. It shows the far field emission at
T “ 5 K within an angular cone of ˘23˝ at different pump powers. From left
to right, the values are 0.55Pth , Pth and 1.14Pth , where Pth “ 1.67 kW cm´2 is
the threshold power. As the pumping power exceeds Pth an intense peak builds
up in the centre of the emission distribution, corresponding to the zero in-plane
momentum state.
Looking at figures 2.3, 2.4, and at similar results from other experiments, it is
evident that the system undergoes some kind of transition, but there is much room
for discussion regarding the precise nature of the transition and whether or not the
resulting system should be called a Bose-Einstein condensate [17]. In fact, Bose-
Einstein condensation is a property of equilibrium systems and is defined in terms
of equilibrium statistical mechanics averages. While condensed polaritons are in
thermal equilibrium among themselves, they coexist with a thermal bath of non-
condensed excitons which have a different temperature. Therefore, in contrast
with equilibrium condensates, it is not possible to define a temperature for the
whole system.
To a certain extent, this controversy is a matter of terminology. While for equi-
librium condensates a number of properties, among which high spatial and tempo-
Figure 2.4: This image is taken from [51]. Each point x “ px, yq in the con-
p1q 1
tour plots gives
a the value of the first order correlation function g px, x q “
˚ 1
ψ pxqψpx q{ ψ pxqψpxqψ px qψpx q. The left panel is below threshold, the right
˚ ˚ 1 1
panel above threshold. An increase in the correlation is evident.
ral coherence, quantised vortices, superfluid behaviour4 , are equivalent or strictly

related, and can be used to define what a condensate is, in the non-equilibrium
scenario the relations between these properties are much more subtle.
Following common use, I refer to polariton systems exhibiting properties similar
4
According to Landau’s criterion, see e.g. [74], the critical speed uc at which excitations start
to form and superfluidity breaks down is
ˆ ˙
ωpkq
uc “ lim Re
kÑ0 k
where ωpkq is the dispersion relation for excitations of the condensate. A non-interacting Bose-
Einstein condensates shows no superfluid behaviour since its dispersion relation is parabolic,
ωpkq “ ~2 k 2 {2m. However, a system of weakly-interacting bosons has the following dispersion
curve, known as the Bogoliubov dispersion,
d ˆ 2 2 ˙2
gρ~2 2 ~ k
ωpkq “ 2
k ` ,
m 2m
?
which for small k is phonon-like: ωpkq » gρ ~ k{m. Therefore a system of weakly-interacting
bosons flowing at a low enough velocity exhibits superfluid behaviour.
to those discussed in [51] as polariton condensates. This does not mean that
some particular definition of non-equilibrium Bose-Einstein condensation has been
chosen. In the end, what matters for this work is the fact that the system exhibits
a degree of coherence high enough to allow for a description in terms of a complex
scalar field obeying some partial differential equation.
2.2 A Mathematical Model

The discussion of polariton condensates dynamics in chapters 3, 4, 5 is based on
numerical and analytical study of the following partial differential equation,
~2 2
i~p1 ` iηqBt ψ “ ´ ∇ ψ ` Vext ψ ` g|ψ|2 ψ ` ipΓ ´ κ|ψ|2 qψ. (2.28)
2m
The general form of (2.28) is Schrödinger-like, i~ Bt ψ “ Eψ, where ψ is a

complex scalar field, measuring the coherence properties of the system. As al-
ready discussed, the kinetic energy of low-momentum polaritons is proportional
to ´∇2 ψ. Polariton-polariton interactions, due to their excitonic component, are
taken into account by the non-linear term g|ψ|2 ψ, with g ą 0 since the interac-
tions are of a repulsive nature. The function Vext represents either an externally
imposed potential, e.g. a harmonic trap used to confine the condensate, or natu-
rally occurring disorder. The additional terms in (2.28) are needed to take into
account the non-equilibrium properties of polariton condensates. The quantities
Γ, κ are positive constants, or, for inhomogeneous pumping, positive functions,
which represent the linear and non-linear loss. The parameter η is a positive con-
stant which is introduced to partially account for the interaction of the condensate
with the exciton reservoir, and m is the effective polariton mass. In section 2.2.1
equation (2.28) is interpreted as a Gross-Pitaevskii equation, which, as we have
seen in section 2.1.2, models the behaviour of equilibrium condensates for T ! Tc ,
modified so to take into account the finite lifetime of polaritons.
The boundary conditions to be imposed on solutions of (2.28) depend on the
form of Vext , which determines whether the condensate is trapped or not, and
on the spatial dependence of Γ. In a region where Γ vanishes ψ has to decay
to zero. At large distances for a trapped condensate ψ approaches zero, for a
free condensate |ψ|2 approaches its equilibrium value given by, see section 2.2.1,
pΓ ´ ηµq{κ.
The squared modulus and the gradient of the phase of the complex field
ψ “ |ψ| exppiφq have an important physical interpretation, being related to the
density ρ and the velocity u of the condensate,
~
ρ “ m|ψ|2 , u“ ∇φ. (2.29)
m
A stationary solution of (2.28) has the form

´ µ ¯
ψpx, tq “ ψpxq exp í t , (2.30)
~
where, with abuse of notation, we have denoted with the same symbol both the
time-dependent wave function and the spatial part of the stationary one. The
positive constant µ is the chemical potential of the system. The equation satisfied
by a stationary solution is
~2 2
µp1 ` iηqψ “ ´ ∇ ψ ` Vext ψ ` g|ψ|2 ψ ` ipΓ ´ κ|ψ|2 qψ. (2.31)
2m
With the exception of section 2.2.1, from now on we shall mainly work with
the dimensionless form of these equations. With the choice of units described in
appendix A.3 we have ρ “ |ψ|2 , u “ ∇φ and (2.28), (2.31) become
´ ¯
2 2 2
2ip1 ` iηqBt ψ “ ´ ∇ ` Vext pxq ` |ψ| ` ipα ´ σ|ψ| q ψ, (2.32)
´ ¯
µp1 ` iηqψ “ ´ ∇2 ` Vext pxq ` |ψ|2 ` ipα ´ σ|ψ|2 q ψ. (2.33)
It is sometimes convenient to recast equation (2.32) in terms of the physical

quantities u and ρ performing what is known as a Madelung transformation. All
?
one needs to do is to write ψ “ ρ exppiφq and expand the various terms, see
appendix A.2 for the explicit calculation. The result is the system of equations
Bt ρ ` ∇ ¨ pρuq ´ 2ηρ Bt φ “ pα ´ σρq ρ, (2.34)

1 ?
2Bt φ ` η Bt log ρ “ ú2 ´ ρ ´ Vext ` ? ∇2 ρ. (2.35)
ρ
For a stationary system, Bt ρ “ 0, 2Bt φ “ ´µ and we obtain
∇ ¨ pρuq “ pα ´ σρ ´ ηµqρ, (2.36)

1 ?
µ “ u2 ` ρ ` Vext ´ ? ∇2 ρ. (2.37)
ρ
For η “ 0, equations (2.34), (2.35) are very similar to the continuity and
Euler equations for a compressible inviscid fluid [76]. In particular, (2.34) is the
continuity equation in the presence of a source αρ and a sink σρ2 and (2.35) is,
but for the last term, the integrated form of the Euler equation for a compressible
fluid whose equation of state is p “ ρ2 {4, p being the pressure of the fluid, see
appendix A.2.5 The term
1 ?
´ ? ∇2 ρ (2.38)
ρ
has no classical analogue and is known as quantum pressure. It is negligible pro-
vided that the density profile is sufficiently smooth. To be more quantitative, if L
is the length scale of density variations, the quantum pressure term scales as L´2
and it is negligible provided that L " λ, where
1
λ“ ? , (2.39)
ρ
known as healing length 6 , is the length scale over which the condensate density, if
perturbed from its equilibrium value by some obstacle, “heals back” to its unper-
turbed value.
In modelling the behaviour of polariton condensates by means of the single
equation (2.28), several simplifying assumptions have been made. The temperature
needs to be much lower than the critical temperature for condensation Tc . Note
however that for polariton condensates Tc is much higher than for equilibrium
condensates: looking at equation (2.10), we see that Tc is proportional to the
inverse mass of the condensate constituents. For realistic densities, the small mass
of polaritons, m „ 10´4 me , gives a critical temperature of 1–10 K, to be compared
with the critical temperature of traditional condensates which is around 100 nK.
5
In dimensional units p “ gρ2 {p2m2 q.
?
6
In dimensional units λ “ ~{ 2gρ.
We have ignored the dynamics of the reservoir excitons, but we have taken
some of its effects into account through the phenomenological parameters α, de-
scribing the gain due to excitons condensing into polaritons, and η, describing
the interaction of the condensate with the excitonic reservoir. As we shall see in
section 2.2.1, explicitly including the dynamics of the reservoir would have lead
us, under the physically reasonable assumption of fast reservoir relaxation, to the
same equation.
We have approximated the kinetic energy of polaritons with the simple expres-
sion Epkq “ ´k 2 , which corresponds to the differential operator ∇2 . Looking at
(2.7), we can see that this approximation is valid for low momenta polaritons. The
correct form of the differential operator for higher k polaritons can be found by
Fourier transforming the full dispersion curve (2.6).
We have neglected the polariton polarisation, which is inherited from their pho-
tonic component. While there are cases in which polarisation plays an important
rôle [82], in most experimental setups mechanical strain in the sample favours lin-
ear polarisation, the phases of left- and right-polarised polaritons becomes locked
and the polarisation degree of freedom can be ignored.
As we can see, the approximations made in describing the system by means of
equation (2.28) do not particularly restrict the range of possible applications, and
indeed (2.28) describes well the dynamics of polariton condensates under a wide
range of experimental conditions without introducing unnecessary complications.
In the next section, we show how (2.28) can be derived starting from two different
viewpoints, explain in more detail the meaning of the various terms, and comment
on its relations with other equations.
2.2.1 Derivation of the Equation

A Modified Gross-Pitaevskii Equation
Polariton condensates are a peculiar kind of Bose-Einstein condensates, so let us

start with the Gross-Pitaevskii equation (2.27), which we rewrite here for reference,
~2 2
i~Bt ψ “ ´ ∇ ψ ` Vext ψ ` g|ψ|2 ψ. (2.40)
2m
As we have already mentioned, (2.40) describes equilibrium condensates at T ! Tc ,

so it should be possible to describe polariton condensates modifying the GPe so
to take into account their non equilibrium properties.
The most important change is the introduction of a gain/loss mechanism which
accounts for the finite lifetime of polaritons. The simplest term describing gain or
loss has the form
Bt ψ “ Γψ, (2.41)
where Γ represent the gain rate minus the loss rate. However, such a term alone
would lead to trivial dynamics: an unbounded growth of the condensate if Γ ą 0
or a disappearance of the condensate if Γ ă 0.
On physical grounds, it is evident that at some point the gain saturates and
that the combined action of gain and loss drives the condensate density towards a
finite value. The simplest way of modelling this behaviour, first proposed in [52],
is to introduce a non-linear loss term ´κ |ψ|2 ψ,
Bt ψ “ pΓ ´ κ|ψ|2 qψ, (2.42)
with Γ, κ ą 0. Multiplying (2.42) by ψ ˚ and adding the Hermitian conjugate we

obtain
Bt n “ 2pΓ ´ κ nqn, (2.43)
where n is the number density of the condensate. We see that the combined effect
of Γ and κ is to drive the condensate towards an equilibrium density neq “ Γ{κ.
In experiments, pumping is often not extended to the whole system. To model
this aspect, we replace the constant parameters Γ and κ with spatially dependent
functions.
Finally, it is possible to partially account for the relaxation process due to the
interactions between the condensate and the excitonic reservoir via the substitu-
tion,
i~Bt ψ Ñ ~ pi ´ ηq Bt ψ, (2.44)
with η a positive dimensionless constant [89, 90]. It can be easily checked that a
nonzero η changes the value of the equilibrium density to neq “ pΓ ´ ηµq{κ.
Putting all these changes together we recover equation (2.28). If the system
is at temperatures low enough to neglect interactions with the thermal cloud one
can take η “ 0. For η “ Γ “ κ “ 0 (2.28) reduces to GPe (2.40). For small values
of these parameters, it is possible to study (2.28) by considering perturbative
corrections to the GPe.
Fast Reservoir Relaxation
Another possibility is to start with a coupled system of equations describing the

condensate and the reservoir. However, we will see that, in the assumption of fast
reservoir relaxation, we can reduce the system to the single equation (2.28).
A coupled model for the condensate and the reservoir has been introduced in
[88]:
~ 2
„ 
2 i
iBt ψ “ ´ ∇ ` ĝ|ψ| ` pRpnR q ´ γq ` 2g̃ nR ψ, (2.45)
2m 2
Bt nR “ P ´ γR nR ´ RpnR q|ψ|2 ` D∇2 nR . (2.46)
In (2.45) γ is the decay rate of condensed polaritons, nR is the number density of

reservoir excitons, RpnR q is the gain rate of condensed polaritons due to stimulated
scattering from the reservoir into the condensate, ĝ is the strength of condensed
polaritons self-interactions and g̃ is the strength of interactions between condensed
polaritons and reservoir excitons. In (2.46) P is the pumping rate of excitons in
the reservoir, γR is the reservoir decay rate, RpnR q|ψ|2 represents the loss due to
stimulated scattering from the reservoir into the condensate and D is the diffusion
rate of reservoir polaritons. The diffusion constant D is very small [88] and for
simplicity we set it to zero. The function RpnR q is a monotonically growing func-
tion of the reservoir density nR and at leading order is given by Rpnq „ RR nR .
The system (2.45), (2.46) constitutes a quite universal model for a quantum system
coupled to an external reservoir provided that any coherence between the quantum
system and the reservoir is dissipated over time scales which are fast compared to
those on which the quantum system dynamics takes place.
In the limit of fast reservoir relaxation γR " γ the reservoir dynamics is much
quicker than that of the condensate. Therefore the condensate sees a reservoir
with a constant density nR given by
P P P RR
nR “ „ ´ |ψ|2 . (2.47)
γR ` RR |ψ|2 γR γR2
Substituting (2.47) in (2.45) we obtain the equation

˙2
~2 2 i RR P
ˆ ˙ ˆ
” pgR ` g̃qP i RR
iBt ψ “ ´ ∇ ` ´γ `2 ´ P |ψ|2
2m 2 γR γR 2 γR
ˆ ˙ (2.48)
pgR ` g̃qP RR 2
ı
` ĝ ´ 2 |ψ| ψ.
γR2
Setting
ˆ ˙ ˆ ˙2
1 RR P 1 RR pgR ` g̃qP RR
α“ ´γ , σ“ P, g “ ĝ ´ 2 , (2.49)
2 γR 2 γR γR2
and performing the gauge transformation ψ Ñ ψ exp p´2i pgR ` g̃qP t{γR q we re-
cover (2.28) for η “ 0.
Note that for sufficiently high values of P the sign of g in (2.49) can change from
positive to negative, corresponding to a change in polariton-polariton interactions
from repulsive (g ą 0) to attractive (g ă 0). Physically what happens is that
an increase in the pumping power populates regions of the lower polariton branch
beyond the inflection point, where polaritons effective mass (2.9) becomes negative.
A change in the sign of the effective mass m has the same effects as a change in the
sign of the interaction strength g. This is a well-known phenomenon in the case of
GPe which has very different solutions depending on whether mg ą 0 (defocusing)
or mg ă 0 (focusing). In 1D and for Vext “ 0 the defocusing (focusing) GPe
admits exact solutions describing travelling dips (peaks) in density, called dark
solitons (bright solitons), see for example [16]. While the behaviour of polariton
condensates is deeply affected by the presence of spatial inhomogeneities and by
the dissipative nature of the system, there is a similar distinction between focusing
and defocusing dynamics: while dark solitons are normally observed [2], beyond
some threshold in pumping power bright solitons are emitted [83].
2.2.2 Values of the Parameters

In most experiments, the maximum pumping power is around ten times the thresh-
old pumping power, which occurs for zero effective linear gain, Γ “ 0, i.e. equal
linear gain and loss. The linear loss rate can be estimated from the polariton
lifetime τ „ 5 ps as ~{τ “ 0.13 meV. With our choice of dimensionless units
α “ 2Γ{p~ωq, where, for a trapped condensate, ω is the frequency of the trap,
usually of the order of some tenth of a meV. Therefore, α is generally in the range
0 – 10. The value of σ can be estimated from the dependence of the blue-shift on
the pumping power giving σ „ 0.3 [52]. Finally the phenomenological parameter
η is a small quantity η „ 0.1.
2.2.3 Relation with Other Equations

If Vext “ 0 and α, σ, η are constant, equation (2.28) is the complex Ginzburg-
Landau (cGLe) equation, see [3] for a review, in disguise. In fact, performing the
transformations
c c
2` 2
˘ 1 η 1 α
t“ 1`η t, x“ x, ψ “ ψ 1 exp pí η t1 q (2.50)
α α η`σ
we obtain, omitting primes,

“ ‰
Bt ψ “ 1 ` p1 ` ibq ∇2 ´ p1 ` icq |ψ|2 ψ, (2.51)
which is the cGLe in the standard rescaled form. The parameters b and c are
related to η and σ by
1 1 ´ ση
b“ , c“ . (2.52)
η σ`η
The cGLe models a vast variety of phenomenas, ranging from non-linear waves
to second-order phase transitions, superfluidity and cosmic strings. In fact it ap-
plies to any out-of-equilibrium system which is homogeneous and isotropic, and
which presents a supercritical phase transition described by a complex order pa-
rameter ψ with gauge group U p1q.
The dynamics described by cGLe is very different depending on whether b “ c

or b ‰ c. In the first case, rescaling ψ Ñ ψ exp píb tq one obtains
` ˘
Bt ψ “ p1 ` ibq 1 ` ∇2 ´ |ψ|2 ψ. (2.53)
Equation (2.53) can be obtained by varying the functional7

ż „ 
1` 2 2
˘
E“ ˚
∇ψ ¨ ∇ψ ` 1 ´ |ψ| d2 x, (2.54)
2
Bψ δE
“ ´p1 ` ibq ˚ . (2.55)
Bt δψ
Since, for any finite value of b, the quantity
ż
δE δE 2
Bt E “ Bt ψ ` ˚ Bt ψ ˚ “ ´ |Bt ψ|2 d2 x (2.56)
δψ δψ 1 ` b2
is negative, the value of E decreases with time. Dynamics is therefore of the

dissipative type and E plays the rôle of a generalised free energy.
In the particular case b “ c “ 0 one obtains the real Ginzburg-Landau equation
` ˘
Bt ψ “ 1 ` ∇2 ´ |ψ|2 ψ, (2.57)
which is the gradient-flow dynamics generated by the functional E.

In the opposite limit8 b, c Ñ 8, the functional E is conserved and represents
the energy of the system. The corresponding field equation is the Gross-Pitaevskii
7
Even if b ‰ c one can obtain the cGLe from a complex functional,
Bψ δE
“ ´ ˚,
Bt δψ
with
1
E “ p1 ` ibq∇ψ ¨ ∇ψ ˚ ´ |ψ|2 ` p1 ` icq|ψ|4 .
2
However E is neither conserved nor monotonically decreasing.
8
The limit should be taken in the non-rescaled form of the complex Ginzburg-Landau equa-
tion.
equation (2.27) in the absence of any external potential,

` ˘
Bt ψ “ í ´∇2 ˘ |ψ|2 ψ. (2.58)
The non-linear term can have both signs. The plus sign arises if there are repulsive
interactions, and (2.58) with the plus sign is known as the defocusing non-linear
Schrödinger equation. The minus sign arises if there are attractive interactions,
and (2.58) is then called the focusing non-linear Schrödinger equation.
` ˘
Bt ψ “ í ´∇2 ` V ˘ |ψ|2 ψ. (2.59)
Equation (2.28), which we use to model the dynamics of polariton condensates,

is strictly related to the b ‰ c cGLe, but breaks spatial homogeneity because of
the presence of an external potential and, in the case of non-uniform pumping,
spatially dependent coefficients. If these spatially dependent terms are weak or
nearly constant then the cGLe approximates very well the dynamics described by
(2.28). However in most cases the behaviour of the system is dominated by these
spatially dependent effects and dynamics, while deeply modified by pumping and
decay, is better approximated by the GPe.
2.3 Some Examples

2.3.1 The Thomas-Fermi Solution
In the study of a polariton condensate it is often useful to treat pumping and decay
as perturbations to the equilibrium dynamics described by the GPe (2.40). Note
that σ, η ă 1, but usually α ą 1. However while perturbation techniques might
fail, understanding the usually simpler behaviour of the equilibrium system often
gives some insight into what happens in the non-equilibrium case.
In the absence of a trapping potential we expect the ground state of the system
to have uniform density. A Madelung transformation of the stationary GPe with
Vext “ 0 gives the system
∇ ¨ pρuq “ 0, (2.60)
1 ?
µ “ ρ ` u2 ´ ? ∇2 ρ, (2.61)
ρ
which is solved by
ρ “ µ “ const, u “ 0. (2.62)
If there is a trapping potential Vext which does not vary appreciably over length
scales of the order of the healing length (2.39) we can neglect the quantum pressure
term and consider the system
∇ ¨ pρuq “ 0,
(2.63)
µ “ ρ ` u2 ` Vext .
The Thomas-Fermi solution is given by

$
&µ ´ V if µ ´ Vext ě 0,
ext
ρT F “
%0 otherwise, (2.64)
uT F “ 0.
Let us see what happens if we introduce pumping and decay. For simplicity,
we take α, σ and η to be constant. The system
∇ ¨ pρuq “ pα ´ σρ ´ ηµqρ, (2.65)

1 ?
µ “ ρ ` u2 ´ ? ∇2 ρ. (2.66)
ρ
still has a solution with u “ 0 everywhere:
α
ρ“µ“ , u “ 0. (2.67)
σ`η
In the absence of a trapping potential the equations for an equilibrium and

a non-equilibrium condensate have similar solutions, compare (2.62) with (2.67).
However, the situation changes if we include a trapping potential. In fact it is easy
to see that if we add a spatially varying term Vext to the right-hand side of (2.66)
there can be no solution of the system with u “ 0.
2.3.2 Rotationally Symmetric Potentials

Consider now systems with a rotationally symmetric potential Vext prq depending
a
only on the radial variable r “ x2 ` y 2 . It is convenient to use the polar coordi-
nates pr, θq. The velocity of the condensate is then u “ ur B r ` puθ {rq B θ . Because
of the rotational symmetry, uθ vanishes and ρ, ur are functions of r only. Using
Bf 1 Bf
∇f “ Br ` Bθ ,
Br r Bθ
Bvr vr 1 Bvθ
∇¨v “ ` ` , (2.68)
Br r r Bθ
B2f 1 Bf 1 B2f
∇2 f “ 2 ` ` 2 2,
Br r Br r Bθ
we can write Madelung equations (2.34), (2.35) in the form
ρu
∇ ¨ pρuq “ ρ1 u ` ρ u1 ` “ pα ´ σρ ´ ηµq ρ, (2.69)
r
˜ ` 1 ˘2 ¸
ρ 1
1 2 ρ
µ “ ρ ` u2 ` Vext ´ ρ ´ ` , (2.70)
2ρ 2ρ r
having set ur ” u and 1 “ d{dr.

Let us assume that Vext prq varies on length scales large enough to neglect
quantum pressure, the last term in (2.70). In the equilibrium case, α “ σ “ η “ 0,
one has the Thomas-Fermi solution (2.64),
$
&µ ´ V if r ď rT F ,
ext prq
ρT F prq “
%0 otherwise, (2.71)
uT F prq “ 0.
The smallest solution of the equation µ “ Vext prq, is the Thomas-Fermi radius rT F .
Let us now compare (2.71) with the non-equilibrium solutions for two particular
choices of Vext .
Localised Potential
Take
` ˘
Vext prq “ V0 exp ´pr{r0 q2 , (2.72)
with V0 , r0 positive constants. Let us examine the system at the points r “ 0 and
r “ 8,
r“0 r“8
u0 “ 0 by symmetry, Vext “ 0, (2.73)
µ “ ρ0 ` V0 pα ´ σρ8 ´ ηµq ρ8 “ 0.
where ρ8 ” limrÑ8 ρprq. Since the potential approaches zero at large r, the
condensate is not trapped and we expect to have non-vanishing density and velocity
at infinity. The quantity ρ ` u2 ` Vext is constant and Vext decreases with r, so
we expect u and ρ to be monotonically increasing functions taking the asymptotic
a
values ρ8 “ pα ´ η u28 q{pσ ` ηq and u8 “ µpσ ` ηq{σ ´ α{σ. These expectations
are confirmed by the results of numerical simulations, see figure 2.5. As shown in
figure 2.6, for a potential with a smaller length scale r0 the contribution of quantum
pressure cannot be neglected.
Note that (2.69), (2.70) is a system of two equations in the two unknown func-
Ρ
15 u
Vext
10
q. p.
5 Μ
Ρ¥
-15 -10 -5 5 10 15
ΡTF
Figure 2.5: Plot of ρ, u2 , Vext , q. p. (quantum pressure) and of their sum µ (black
line). Note that µ is, as it should be, constant. The length scale r0 “ 4 of
the potential, is much bigger than the healing length, therefore quantum pressure
(orange line) is totally negligible. The asymptotic value of the density, ρ8 “ α{σ
and the equilibrium Thomas-Fermi solution ρT F are also shown. The parameters
used in the simulation are σ “ 0.3, α “ 4, η “ 0.
15 u
Vext
10
q. p.
5 Μ
Ρ¥
-2 -1 1 2
ΡTF
-5
Figure 2.6: Same plot as in figure 2.5, but for r0 “ 0.4. Note that quantum
pressure is different from zero over a length which is approximately twice r0 .
tions ρ and u which are therefore generally determined in terms of the parameters
µ, α, σ, η. While α, σ and η are to be considered as given, the chemical potential
µ is not. For an equilibrium condensate, µ can be found by using the fact that the
total particle number is conserved. In the non-equilibrium case there is no general
procedure for finding µ but, provided that quantum pressure is negligible, its value
can be obtained by using equation (2.70) if one knows the value of both ρ and u
at some point of the system.
Trapped system
Take
Vext prq “ r2 . (2.74)
The condensate is trapped and its density monotonically decreases from its max-
Figure 2.7: Image from [52]. Density profiles of a polariton condensate in a har-
monic trap for two different values of α (continuous lines) compared with the corre-
sponding Thomas-Fermi solutions (dashed lines). For small α the non-equilibrium
solution is similar to the Thomas-Fermi one, but for higher values of α the dif-
ference becomes evident. The density is suppressed close to the point where the
condensate velocity takes its maximum.
imum value ρ0 “ µ at r “ 0 until it vanishes for r equal to some value rT F . By

symmetry, the velocity vanishes at r “ 0 and therefore takes its maximum some-
where in between r “ 0 and r “ rT F . Close to such point the density is suppressed,
see figure 2.7.
In a trapped configuration we can get an estimate for the value of µ as follows.
If D is a disk whose radius is bigger than rT F , there is no flux crossing its boundary
BD and (2.69) gives
ż ż ż
2
∇ ¨ pρuq d x “ ρ u ¨ dl “ 0 “ pα ´ σρqρ d2 x, (2.75)
D BD BD
where d2 x “ dx dy “ r sin θ dr dθ and dl is the oriented line element along the

circle BD. If pumping is not too strong, we can approximate ρ by the Thomas-
Fermi solution ρT F “ µ ´ r2 . Doing so we get
ż ż rT F
2
“ ` ˘‰ ` ˘
pα ´ σρqρ d x “ 2π α ´ σ µ ´ r2 µ ´ r2 r dr
BD 0
(2.76)
µ2 ´ α σ ¯
“ 2π ´ µ ,
2 2 3
?
having used rT F “ µ, hence
3α
.
µ“ (2.77)
2σ
As we can see from figure 2.7, this estimate is good for small α, but not very
accurate if the value of α is increased.
As will be discussed in chapter 3, the rotationally symmetric stationary solution
shown in figure 2.7 is unstable with respect to perturbations carrying high angular
momentum and the outcome of the instability is the spontaneous formation of a
rotating vortex lattice.
2.4 Vortices
A complex scalar field ψ : R2 Ñ C has a vortex of topological charge N at a point
p if p is an isolated zero of f “ |ψ| and φ “ Arg pψq increases by 2πN along any
simple closed curve enclosing p. In most cases if ψ is a single vortex solution, then
at large distances from the vortex core |ψ| approaches a constant value. Therefore
at large distances ψ reduces to a map φ8 : S 1 Ñ S 1 . The topological charge of
the vortex is then the winding number of φ8 .
In this section we discuss, following [72], vortex solutions of the GPe, the real
GL equation and the cGLe. Further details on vortices in the GPe and the real GL
equation can be found in [68], while for the cGLe we refer to [44, 73]. As discussed
in section 2.2.3, in the absence of an external trap and with homogeneous pump-
ing, equation (2.28) reduces to the cGLe, which interpolates between conservative
dynamics (b, c Ñ 8, reduces to GPe) and purely relaxational dynamics (b “ c “ 0,
reduces to real GL equation).
With the exception of the b ‰ c cGLe case, for single vortex solutions φ is
constant along circles and f „ r|N | near the vortex core, f „ 1 ` Opr´2 q at large
r. For the full b ‰ c cGLe the small r behaviour is still the same, but φ has a very
different behaviour at large r where its gradient approaches a finite nonzero value.
We will discuss vortex dynamics only in the case of vortices separated by dis-
tances which are large compared to the healing length. Under these conditions,
vortices interact mainly through phase inhomogeneities and their motion depends
on how a vortex generates phase gradients, and how it moves in response to im-
posed phase gradients.
In order to conform with the standard rescaled form of the cGLe (2.51), in this
section only we use dimensionless units in which the velocity of the condensate is
given by u “ 2∇φ rather than ∇φ.
2.4.1 Conservative Dynamics

In this section we discuss vortex solutions of the GPe
iBt ψ “ ´∇2 ψ ` p|ψ 2 | ´ 1qψ. (2.78)

Density, which is conserved, has been rescaled so to have unit value at infinity.
Writing ψ “ f exppiφq in (2.78) and separating real and imaginary part we obtain
the system
∇2 f
Bt φ “ ´ |∇φ|2 ` 1 ´ f 2 , (2.79)
f
´Bt f “ f ∇2 φ ` 2∇f ¨ ∇φ. (2.80)
Single Vortex Solution
Let us look for a stationary rotationally symmetric solution of (2.78) corresponding

to a single vortex of topological charge N . Substituting the ansatz
ψ “ f prq exppiN θq (2.81)
in (2.78) we obtain the equation

ˆ ˙
2f1 N2 2
f ` ` 1 ´ 2 ´ f f “ 0, (2.82)
r r
with boundary conditions f p0q “ 0, f p8q “ 1. For small r, f prq „ r|N | ; for large
r, f prq „ 1 ´ N {p2r2 q. Numerical integration gives the profile shown in figure 2.8.
In the following we will denote this solution by
ψv “ fv prq exppiN θq. (2.83)
Vortex Interactions
We now want to consider the interactions of vortices moving at slow speeds and
separated by distances of order L large compared to the healing length (2.39).
Consider a vortex V. Since the vortices are far apart from each other, the modulus
f of ψ will not be appreciably different from the single vortex solution fv near
the core of V — recall that density perturbations typically decay in a few healing
lengths. However, the phase φ of ψ, in addition to the usual term N θ, where N
is the topological charge of V, will also have a contribution φ̃ due to the presence
of the other vortices. The gradient ∇φ̃, which is approximately constant over the
Figure 2.8: Numerical solution of equation (2.82) showing the modulus of ψ for a
a vortex with topological charge N “ 1 (continuous line) and N “ 2 (dashed line).
The image has been taken from [74].
core of V, will set V in motion. Therefore, there are two issues to be addressed:
how the single vortex solution ψv needs to be modified once the vortex starts
moving, and how we can calculate the phase φ̃ at V due to the presence of the
other vortices.
It turns out that, in the comoving frame, a vortex moving with constant speed
v is still described by the solution ψv of (2.78). In fact the transformed field
ˆ ˆ ˙˙
1 i 1 2
ψ px, tq “ ψpx ´ v t, tq exp v¨x´ v t , (2.84)
2 2
is a solution of (2.78), that is
iBt ψ 1 “ ´∇2 ψ 1 ` |ψ 1 |2 ψ 1 . (2.85)

In polar coordinates the transformation becomes f Ñ f , φ Ñ φ ` φ̃, with
1
φ̃ “ pv ¨ x ´ v 2 tq. (2.86)
2
Therefore a vortex V set in motion by a constant phase gradient will move with
speed v “ 2∇φ̃, while preserving its shape.
In order to calculate the phase gradient imposed on V by the other vortices,
we need to examine the large-scale behaviour of equations (2.79), (2.80). The
time scale associated to a (large) length scale L can be found looking at the
dispersion relation of (2.78). Substituting the ansatz ψ “ exp pi pk ¨ x ´ ωtqq we
get ωpkq “ k 2 . Therefore the time scale of dynamics happening over lengths OpLq
is OpL2 q. Rescaling x Ñ L x, t Ñ L2 t and denoting by the small quantity 1{L,
equations (2.79), (2.80) give
` ˘
f “ 1 ` O 2 , (2.87)
` ˘
∇2 φ “ 0 ` O 4 . (2.88)
Equation (2.87) tells us that the presence of other vortices does not significantly
affect f even in the large-scale dynamics. Equation (2.88) is linear, so we can
superimpose the contributions of single vortices. Since θi “ arctanppyýi q{px´xi qq
is harmonic, we can write an approximate solution of (2.88) corresponding to k
vortices located at at the points tpxi , yi qu as
k ˆ ˙
ÿ y ´ yi
φ“ Ni arctan , (2.89)
i“1
x ´ xi
where Ni is the topological charge of the i-th vortex.

The speed vi of the i-th vortex is given by twice the phase gradient produced
by all the others,
ˆ ˆ ˙˙
ˇ ÿ yi ´ yk ÿ R π2 pxik q
vi “ 2∇φ̃ˇ “2 Nk ∇ arctan “2 Nk , (2.90)
ˇ
x“xi
k‰i
xi ´ xk k‰i
|xik |2
where xik is the vector xk ´ xi and R π2 is the matrix rotating a vector counter-
k
k k
clockwise by π{2, ˜ ¸+ +
- + 0 ´1v v
v vR π2 “ . k (2.91)
1 0
In particular, two vortices with topological charges N1 , N2 such that |N1 | “
v
v v
+ +
+ -
v
Figure 2.9: Motion of a pair of like- and unlike-charged vortices according to the
Gross-Pitaevskii equation.
|N2 | “ N separated by a distance 2L will rotate around the centre of symmetry

with angular frequency |v|{L “ N {L2 if N1 “ N2 , and will drift along the direction
normal to their common axis with speed |v| “ 2N {L if N1 “ Ń2 , see figure 2.9.
2.4.2 Dissipative Dynamics

In this section we discuss vortex solutions of the real Ginzburg-Landau equation
Bt ψ “ ∇2 ψ ` p1 ´ |ψ|2 qψ. (2.92)
Substituting ψ “ f exppiφq in (2.78) and separating real and imaginary part we

obtain the system
` ˘
Bt f “ ∇2 f ` 1 ´ |∇φ|2 ´ f 2 f, (2.93)
2
Bt φ “ ∇2 φ ` ∇f ¨ ∇φ. (2.94)
f
Single Vortex Solution
The single-vortex solution (2.83) of (2.78) is also a solution of (2.92).

Vortex Interactions
Again, let us consider the dynamics of vortices moving at small velocities and
separated by large distances. While for the GPe we found that the near-field
solution of a moving vortex differs from the stationary solution ψv only by an
additional phase, in the case of the real GL equation we need to solve equations
(2.93), (2.94) both in the near- and far-field regimes and to match the respective
solutions in an intermediate region, large with respect to the vortex core but small
with respect to the vortices separation.
Let us start with the long-range dynamics. While the modulus and the phase
of ψ can evolve according to different time scales, the long-range dynamics is
governed by the time scale of the slower variable φ, which, for a length scale of
order OpLq, is of order OpL2 q. Replacing x Ñ L x, t Ñ L2 t and denoting by the
small quantity 1{L, (2.93) gives
` ˘
2 Bt f “ 2 ∇2 f ` 1 ´ 2 |∇φ|2 ´ f 2 f. (2.95)
It follows
2
f “1´ |∇φ|2 ` Op4 q. (2.96)
2
For the phase φ, replacing x Ñ L x, t Ñ L2 t in (2.94) and substituting (2.96) for
f , we have, neglecting terms of order Op4 q and higher,
Bt φ “ ∇2 φ. (2.97)
Equation (2.97) is invariant under the gauge transformation φ Ñ φ`k¨x, therefore

it is not affected by an imposed phase gradient k which, as we will see, has instead
an effect on the near-field equations.
For a vortex moving with constant velocity v “ v By along the y-axis, (2.97)
written with respect to a comoving frame becomes
v By φ ` ∇2 φ “ 0. (2.98)
Following [72], in order to solve (2.98) we introduce an auxiliary function ζ such

that
Bx φ “ Ń pBy ζ ` vζq,
(2.99)
By φ “ N Bx ζ.
The integrability condition for ζ, Bxy ζ “ Byx ζ, is (2.98), and the integrability
condition for φ gives
N p∇2 ζ ` v By ζq “ Bx φy ´ By φx “ curlp∇φq “ 2πN δpxq, (2.100)
having used the circulation condition for a vortex of topological charge N . It

follows
∇2 ζ ` v By ζ “ 2πδpxq. (2.101)
Equation (2.101) is solved by

´ vy ¯ ´ vr ¯
ζ “ ´ exp ´ K0 , (2.102)
2 2
with Ki prq the modified Bessel function of the second kind.

The components of ∇φ can be found using (2.99),
Bx φ “ Ń pBy ζ ` vζq
” v ´ ´ vr ¯ y ´ vr ¯¯ ´ vy ¯ ´ ´ vr ¯ ´ vy ¯¯ı
“ Ń K0 ` K1 exp ´ ´ v K0 exp ´ ,
2 2 r 2 2 2 2
Nv ´ ur ¯ ” ´ vr ¯ ´ vr ¯ ı
“ exp ´ sin θ K0 ´ K1 sin θ
2 2 2 2
(2.103)
Nv ´ ur ¯ ” ´ vr ¯ ı
By φ “ N ζ x “ exp ´ sin θ K1 cos θ , (2.104)
2 2 2
having used K10 prq “ ´K1 prq.

In order to match the far-field solution with the near-field one we will need the
small r behaviour of (2.103), (2.104). Using
´r¯
K0 prq “ ´γ ´ log ` Opr2 q,
2
1 (2.105)
K1 prq “ ` Oprq,
r
with γ » 0.577 the Euler constant, and adding the contribution of a phase gradient
k, we get
N Nv ´ ´ vr ¯
2
¯
φx » ´ sin θ ´ γ ` log ´ sin θ ` kx , (2.106)
r 2 4
N Nv
φy » cos θ ´ cos θ sin θ ` ky . (2.107)
r 2
Integrating (2.106), (2.107) we obtain
Nv ´v ¯
φ » Nθ ´ r cos θ log eγ´1 r ` k ¨ x
2 ˆ4 ˆ ˙˙ (2.108)
Nv vr 2kx
“ Nθ ´ r cos θ log exp γ ´ 1 ´ ` ky v sin θ.
2 4 Nv
Consider now the near-field dynamics. For a vortex moving with velocity v
along the y-axis, equations (2.93), (2.94) in the comoving frame are
` ˘
v By f ` ∇2 f ` 1 ´ |∇φ|2 ´ f 2 f “ 0, (2.109)
2
v By φ ` ∇2 φ ` ∇f ¨ ∇φ “ 0. (2.110)
f
For v “ 0, the solution of (2.109), (2.110) would be given by (2.83), so let us try
an ansatz of the form
f “ f0 prq ` v pc cos θ ` sin θq ξprq,

(2.111)
φ “ N θ ` v pcos θ ` b sin θq χprq,
with ξprq, χprq unknown functions of r and b, c constants to be determined. At

first order in v, after some algebra (2.110) gives
ˆ ˙
2 χ1 χ N
p1 ` b tan θq χ ` ´ 2 `
r r r
ˆ ˙ (2.112)
2 Nξ 1 1
` p1 ´ c tan θq ` fv χ p1 ` b tan θq “ 0.
fv r 2
In view of the matching with the small r limit of the far-field solution, let us
consider the large r behaviour of (2.112). Since fv1 „ Opr´3 q and ξ approaches
zero at large r, taking the gradient of φ in (2.111) and comparing with (2.106),
(2.107), we see that, in order to be able to match near- and far-field solutions, χ
must be of order Opr log rq at large r. Hence, keeping terms up to Opr´1 q, (2.112)
reduces to ˆ ˙
2 χ1 χ N
p1 ` b tan θq χ ` ´ 2 ` “ 0. (2.113)
r r r
Since χ is a function of r alone, we need to take b “ 0. The resulting equation is
solved by
ˆ ˙
1 1 N
χ “ pC1 ´ iC2 q ` pC1 ` iC2 q ´ p2 log r ´ 1q r, (2.114)
2r 2 4
with C1 , C2 arbitrary constants. In order for the solution to be regular at r “ 0,

we need to take C2 “ íC1 , hence
φ “ N θ ` vpcos θ ` c sin θqχ

(2.115)
ˆ ˙
Nv r
“ Nθ ´ pcos θ ` c sin θqr log ,
2 a1
where a1 “ expp1{2 ` 2C1 {N q. In order to find the value of the constant C1 , one
needs to consider the equation for ξ. We refer to [72] for details and only quote
the result ˆ ˙
a1 1
log “ , (2.116)
a0 2
where a0 is a constant whose value depends on the topological charge of the vortex;
for |N | “ 1, a0 » 1.126.
Matching (2.108) with (2.115) we find c “ 0, ky “ 0 and
ˆ ˙
1 v 2kx
“ exp γ ´ 1 ´ . (2.117)
a1 4 Nv
The gradient k which sets the vortex in motion is orthogonal to the velocity of the
vortex — recall that we took the vortex to be moving along the y-axis and that
we have found ky “ 0. Substituting (2.116) for a1 we have
Nv ´v ¯
0
kx “ ´ log , (2.118)
2 v
where v0 “ 4 expp1{2 ´ γq{a0 , v0 » 3.29 for |N | “ 1. Since v is assumed to be

small, the logarithm is always positive and we can write
N ´v ¯
0
k“ log R π2 pvq. (2.119)
2 v
In particular, two unlike-charged vortices will attract each other and two like-
- + + +
v v v v
k k k
Figure 2.10: Motion of a pair of like- and unlike-charged vortices according to the
real Ginzburg-Landau equation.
charged vortices will repel each other, see figure 2.10.
2.4.3 Intermediate Case: cGLe

In this section we discuss vortex solutions of the cGLe
“ ‰
Bt ψ “ 1 ` p1 ` ibq ∇2 ´ p1 ` icq |ψ|2 ψ. (2.120)
We need to distinguish between the case b “ c, which can be reduced to the real
Ginzburg-Landau equation (2.92), and the case b ‰ c.
cGLe for b “ c
As described in section 2.2.3, if b “ c we can rescale ψ and rewrite (2.120) as

` ˘
Bt ψ “ p1 ` ibq 1 ` ∇2 ´ |ψ|2 ψ. (2.121)
Suppose that a vortex is moving with velocity ṽ and perform the transformation
ψpx, tq Ñ ψpx ´ ṽt, tq exp piA ¨ xq , (2.122)

where A is a for now arbitrary constant. Substituting in (2.121) we get

“ ‰
Bt ψ ´ ṽ ¨ ∇ψ “ p1 ` ibq ∇2 ψ ` p1 ´ |ψ|2 qψ ` 2iA ¨ ∇ψ ´ A2 ψ . (2.123)
Assuming that in the comoving frame Bt ψ “ 0 and setting
ṽ “ p1 ` b2 qv “ p1 ` ibqp1 ´ ibqv, (2.124)
(2.123) simplifies to
´v ¨ ∇ψ “ ∇2 ψ ` p1 ´ |ψ|2 qψ ` ip2A ´ bvq ¨ ∇ψ ´ A2 ψ. (2.125)
Choosing A “ pb{2qv and keeping only terms up to order Opvq we get
´v ¨ ∇ψ “ ∇2 ψ ` p1 ´ |ψ|2 qψ (2.126)
which is the real Ginzburg-Landau equation (2.92) in the comoving frame.

Looking at the transformation (2.122) we see that, in order to obtain the rela-
tion between the velocity ṽ of the vortex and the phase gradient acting on it, we
need to replace k with k ´ bv{2 “ k ´ bṽ{2p1 ` b2 q in (2.119), therefore obtaining
ˆ ˙
bṽ N v0 p1 ` b2 q
k“ ` log R π2 pṽq . (2.127)
2p1 ` b q 2p1 ` b2 q
2 |ṽ|
For b “ 0, (2.127) reproduces (2.119). For b ‰ 0, like-charged (unlike-charged)

vortices still repel (attract) each other, but move along an oblique trajectory.
cGLe for b ‰ c, Single Vortex Solution
A single vortex solution of (2.120) has a more complex structure than the sin-
gle vortex solution (2.83) valid for both the GPe and the real Ginzburg-Landau
equation. In fact, substituting the ansatz ψ “ f prq exp pipN θ ` χqq in (2.120) and
? ?
rescaling x Ñ 1 ` b2 x, ψ Ñ ψ{ 1 ` bc we obtain the equations
ˆ ˙
2f1 N2 1 2 2
f ` ` 1 ´ 2 ´ pχ q ´ f f “ 0, (2.128)
r r
1
2 2 χ
χ ` χ1 f 1 ` “ b ´ qf 2 , (2.129)
f r
where q “ pb ´ cq{p1 ` bcq. The boundary conditions are f p0q “ χ1 p0q “ 0,

a a
f p8q “ cp1 ` bcq{pb ´ cq, χ1 p8q “ 1 ` f p8q2 .
For q “ 0, we recover the standard vortex solution ψv , therefore, for small q,
we can assume that k is of order Opqq and expand (2.128) and (2.129) in q up to
order Opqq. Equation (2.128) then has the usual single vortex solution fv .
Setting k “ χ1 and integrating (2.129) once we have
żr´
q ¯
kprq “ 1 ´ fv2 puq fv2 puq u du. (2.130)
r fv2 prq 0
Near r “ 0, fv » r|N | , therefore for small r
qr q r2
kprq » ñ φ “ Nθ ` χ » Nθ ` . (2.131)
2p1 ` |N |q 4p1 ` |N |q
At large r, (2.128) gives

N2
f 2 „ 1 ´ k 2 prq ´ . (2.132)
r2
However, the integral (2.130) is divergent for large r and, in order to find the
asymptotic behaviour of k, it is necessary to match (2.130) with an outer solution.
Referring to [72] for details we just quote the result for |N | “ 1,
ˆ ˙
2 π
k8 “ exp ´ ´ γ , (2.133)
a0 q 2q
with a0 » 1.126 and γ » 0.577 the Euler constant.

As we can see, the phase φ of ψ is not constant but has an r dependence. For
small r the usual behaviour φ „ N θ dominates, curves of constant phase are very
similar to straight lines through the origin and ∇φ „ pN {rqB θ . However for large
r the radial part χprq of ∇φ approaches a constant value while the tangential part
is suppressed by the factor 1{r, so ∇φ „ k8 B r . As a result, the constant phase

curves are spirals — in fact vortex solutions of (2.120) are often called spiral waves.
Note that the asymptotic gradient k8 is generally nonzero at infinity, therefore the
vortex appears to be radiating a wave with wave number k8 .
cGLe for b ‰ c, Vortex Interactions
The motion of vortex solutions of (2.120) is very complicated, but a qualitative

description of the behaviour of two interacting vortices can be obtained in a simple
way [84]. Consider the ansatz ψ “ B exppik ¨ xq describing a vortex set in motion
by the phase gradient k imposed by another vortex. Substituting the ansatz in
(2.120) yields
Bt B “ r1 ´ p1 ` ibqk 2 sB ` p1 ` ibq∇2 B ´ p1 ` icq|B|2 B

(2.134)
` 2ip1 ` ibqk ¨ ∇B.
Making the transformations
B ?
BÑ? exppík 2 b tq, t Ñ p1 ´ k 2 q t, xÑ 1 ´ k 2 x, (2.135)
1 ´ k2
we obtain
1 ` ib
Bt B ´ 2i ? 2
k ¨ ∇B “ B ` p1 ` ibq∇2 B ´ p1 ` icq|B|2 B. (2.136)
1´k
Near the core,

ˆ ˙|N |
|N | N
Bpx, tq » r exppiN θq “ x` iy , (2.137)
|N |
see (2.130), therefore

N
ik ¨ ∇B “ R π pkq ¨ ∇B, (2.138)
|N | 2
where R π2 pkq “ ´ky B x ` kx B y is the vector obtained rotating k counterclockwise
by π{2. The right-hand side of (2.136) vanishes if B is a stationary vortex solution
v
v -
+
-
v
+
+
v +
Figure 2.11: Motion of a pair of vortices according to the complex Ginzburg-

Landau equation. Two vortices of like charge separate. Two vortices of unlike
charge can separate or approach each other depending on their initial distance.
The black dashed arrow illustrates the direction of the phase gradient that each
vortex is imposing on the other one. The vortex velocity (2.139) has a component
along the phase gradient but also a component normal to it.
of the cGLe. The terms on the left-hand side describe how this vortex solution
moves as a consequence of the imposed phase gradient. In fact, using (2.138), we
see that the terms on the left-hand side also vanish if B is moving with velocity
ˆ ˙
2 N
v“? bk ´ R π pkq . (2.139)
1 ´ k2 |N | 2
From (2.139) we can qualitatively understand how two vortices interact. At

large (short) distances the tangential (radial) component of k dominates. As a
consequence, like-charged vortices move along spirals while separating. Unlike-
charged vortices approach each other if their distance d is less than some critical
distance dc , but separate if d ą dc , see figure 2.11.
The description given so far is only valid for small q. For larger values of q
shocks form, partially shielding the vortices from each other [3]. Note that the
small q regime is the most relevant for polariton condensates since
bć
q“ “ σ „ 0.3. (2.140)
1 ` bc
Chapter 3
Spontaneous Rotating Vortex

Lattices and Their Robustness
If angular momentum is supplied from the outside to a trapped equilibrium con-

densate, for example by stirring it, a rotating vortex lattice will form [74]. However,
if the stirring process is interrupted vortices spiral out of the condensate [77]. A
theoretical analysis of non-equilibrium condensates based on equation (2.28) pre-
dicts a very different behaviour: as discussed in [52] and anticipated in section
2.3.2, stationary rotationally symmetric solutions are unstable against high angu-
lar momentum perturbations and the outcome of the instability is the spontaneous
formation of a rotating vortex lattice.
However the predicted behaviour has not yet been experimentally observed.
While the setup in which the instability is supposed to show up has never been
exactly reproduced, the lack of experimental confirmation makes it important to
reconsider more carefully both the instability mechanism and the robustness of
the vortex lattice against perturbations of various kinds. Both aspects have been
examined in [14], a joint work in which I have contributed to the theoretical un-
derstanding of the system and numerically probed the robustness of the vortex
lattice.
Section 3.1 recapitulates the results of [52]. Unless otherwise stated, in order
to produce the figures I have reproduced the results of [52] in my own numerical
simulations. Section 3.2 presents a linear stability analysis of the trapped conden-
sate. Section 3.3 is devoted to the robustness of the vortex lattice against various
kinds of perturbations.
53
Chapter 3. Spontaneous Rotating Vortex Lattices and Their Robustness 54
3.1 Vortex Array

Consider equation (2.32) with a radial quadratic potential Vext prq “ r2 , and no
relaxation term (i.e. η “ 0),
” ı
2i Bt ψ “ ´ ∇2 ` r2 ` |ψ|2 ` ipα ´ σ|ψ|2 q ψ. (3.1)
Throughout this section, we take α “ 4.4 and σ “ 0.3, consistently with [14, 52].
Performing a Madelung transformations we obtain the equations
Bρ
` ∇ ¨ pρuq “ pα ´ σρqρ, (3.2)
Bt ˆ ˙
Bu 1 2 2 1 2?
` ∇ ρ ` u ` r ´ ? ∇ ρ “ 0. (3.3)
Bt 2 ρ
As discussed in section 2.3.2, the system (3.2), (3.3) admits a stationary rota-
tionally symmetric solution, see figure 2.7, but this solution is unstable against per-
turbations carrying high angular momentum. In fact, these perturbations transfer
density towards the edge of the condensate. The growth of a perturbation δρ is
governed by the quantity pα ´ 2σρqδρ, which is positive at the edge of the con-
densate, therefore high angular momentum perturbations grow and destabilise the
system.
If pumping is restricted to a finite spot, the instability is not observed, as there
is no gain at the edge of the condensate (α “ 0) and perturbations cannot grow. In
order for the instability to be suppressed, the radius R of the pumping spot needs
to be smaller than the linear size of the condensate, given by its Thomas-Fermi
radius rT F „ 4.7. In equation (3.1), finite size of the pumping spot is implemented
via the replacement α Ñ α ΘpR ´ rq, where Θ is the Heaviside function. For
R ă rT F , the rotationally symmetric stationary solution of (3.1) is shown in the
left panel of figure 3.1.
If R ą rT F , the outcome of the instability is the spontaneous formation of a
rigidly rotating vortex lattice [52], see the right panel of figure 3.1. Inside the vortex
lattice the condensate velocity is well approximated by the rigid body relation
u „ Ω ^ x, Ω “ Ω B z , x “ x B x ` y B y , with Bi the unit vector along the i-th
coordinate axis.
Figure 3.1: Contour plot of the condensate density for two different values of the
radius R of the pumping spot. Warmer colours correspond to higher densities.
The red circle marks the boundary of the pumping spot. Left (R “ 4): if pumping
is restricted to a circular spot whose radius R is smaller than the Thomas-Fermi
radius rT F „ 4.7, a stationary rotationally symmetric density profile is obtained.
Right (R “ 8): for R ą rT F a rotating vortex array forms. The figure shows the
vortex array at a particular instant.
Rewriting equations (3.2) and (3.3) in the rotating frame we have

` ˘
∇ ¨ rρ pu ´ Ω ^ xqs “ α ΘpR ´ rq ´ σρ ρ, (3.4)
?
2 2
` 2
˘ ∇2 ρ
µ “ |u ´ Ω ^ x| ` r 1 ´ Ω ` ρ ´ ? . (3.5)
ρ
Equation (3.4) implies that, inside the pumping spot and far enough from vortices,
the condensate density has the approximately constant value ρ „ α{σ. Equation
(3.5) then gives, neglecting quantum pressure, Ω „ 1 and µ „ α{σ. In a sense
the rotating lattice is neutralising the trap by producing a centrifugal potential of
the same strength. Note that the value of the chemical potential µ for the vortex
array configuration is different from the value (2.77) that it has for the rotationally
symmetric state.
Beyond the edge of the vortex lattice, the condensate velocity is not given any
more by the rigid body relation, but can be found calculating the circulation of u
around a circle γ of radius r enclosing the vortex lattice:

ż
1 NV
NV “ u ¨ dl “ uprqr ñ u“ Bθ , (3.6)
2π γ r
where dl is the line element of γ, oriented counterclockwise, NV is the total number

of vortices and Bθ {r is the unit vector tangent to the circle of radius r taken with
counterclockwise orientation.
3.2 Stability Analysis

Let us now perform, following [14], a more accurate linear stability analysis of
the system (3.2), (3.3). We are going to neglect the quantum pressure term and
consider the effects of pumping and decay in a perturbative way.
Neglecting quantum pressure, stationary solutions of (3.2), (3.3) satisfy the
equations
∇ ¨ pρuq “ pα ´ σρqρ “ 0, (3.7)

∇pρ ` u2 ` r2 q “ 0. (3.8)
With no pumping and decay, i.e. for α “ σ “ 0, the ground state of the system is
given by the Thomas-Fermi solution
$
&µ ´ r2 if r ď rT F ,
ρT F “
%0 otherwise, (3.9)
uT F “ 0,
with chemical potential µ „ 3α{2σ, see (2.77).

Writing ρ “ ρT F ` δρ, u “ 0 ` δu and substituting in (3.7), (3.8) we obtain,
at first order in α and σ,
∇ ¨ pρT F δuq “ pα ´ σρT F q ρT F , (3.10)

∇pδρq “ 0. (3.11)
From (3.11) follows δρ “ 0. Because of the symmetry of the system, u “ uprq Br ,

with Br the unit vector in the radial direction, and (3.10) becomes
1
prρT F uq1 “ pα ´ σρT F q ρT F . (3.12)
r
Integrating we get u “ ´pr{6qρT F . To first order in pumping and decay, the

solution is therefore
σ
ρ “ ρT F , u “ ´ rρT F B r . (3.13)
6
Consider now the perturbation, carrying angular momentum s,
ρprq Ñ ρprq ` hprq eipsθ´ωtq , uprq Ñ uprq ` vprq eipsθ´ωtq . (3.14)
Substituting in (3.2), (3.3), neglecting quantum pressure1 and writing ω “ ω0 ` δω

we have, at first order in v and h,
i pω0 ` δωq h eipsθ´ωtq “ ∇ ¨ pρv eipsθ´ωtq ` hu eipsθ´ωtq q ` p2σρ ´ αqh eipsθ´ωtq ,

ˆ ˙
ipsθ´ωtq h ipsθ´ωtq ipsθ´ωtq
i pω0 ` δωq v e “∇ e ù¨ve .
2
(3.15)
Switching to polar coordinates pr, θq and using (2.68) we have
1 d isρ vθ 1 d
i pω0 ` δωq h “ prρ vr q ` ` p2σρ ´ αqh ` pru hq,
r dr r r dr
1 dh d
i pω0 ` δωq vr “ ` pu vr q, (3.16)
2 dr dr
is isu
i pω0 ` δωq vθ “ h ` vr .
2r r
At zeroth order in pumping and decay, ρ “ ρT F , u “ α “ σ “ 0, hence
1 d isρT F
iω0 h “ prρT F vr q ` vθ , (3.17)
r dr r
1 dh
iω0 vr “ , (3.18)
2 dr
is
iω0 vθ “ h. (3.19)
2r
Substituting (3.18) and (3.19) in (3.17) we get the hypergeometric ODE

ˆ ˙
1 d dh s2 ρT F
rρT F ´ h “ ´ω02 h. (3.20)
2r dr dr 2r2
1
The treatment given here does not apply to arbitrary perturbations but only to those having
a length scale such that neglecting quantum pressure is justified. However a more complete
treatment would only be needed if without quantum pressure the system had no instabilities,
and that is not the case.
The general solution of (3.20) is

ˆ ˙ ˆ 2 ˙s{2 ˆ ˙
´ µ ¯s{2 r2 r r2
h “ C1 ´ 2 2 F 1 a1 , b1 ; 1 ´ s; ` C2 ´ 2 F 1 a2 , b2 ; 1 ` s; ,
r µ µ µ
(3.21)
where C1 , C2 are arbitrary constants, 2 F1 pa, b; c; zq is the hypergeometric function

8
ÿ paqk pbqk z k
2 F1 “ , (3.22)
k“0
pcqk k!
with $
&1 if n “ 0,
pqqk “ (3.23)
%qpq ` 1q ¨ ¨ ¨ pq ` n ` 1q if k ą 0,
and
ˆ ˙ ˆ ˙
1 1
b b
2 2 2 2
a1 “ 1 ´ s ´ 1 ` s ` 2ω0 , b1 “ 1 ´ s ` 1 ` s ` 2ω0 ,
2 2
ˆ ˙ ˆ ˙ (3.24)
1 1
b b
2 2
a2 “ 1 ` s ´ 1 ` s2 ` 2ω0 , b2 “ 1 ` s ` 1 ` s2 ` 2ω0 .
2 2
Since equation (3.21) is invariant under the transformation s Ñ ´s we can without

any loss of generality consider the case s ą 0. Then in order for h to be regular
at r “ 0 we need to take C1 “ 0. In order for 2 F1 pa, b; c; r2 {µq to be bounded as
r2 Ñ µ we need the series (3.22) to terminate after a finite number of terms. This
is possible if a2 “ ń, with n a positive integer, which implies
a
ω0,ns “ sp1 ` 2nq ` 2npn ` 1q. (3.25)
Therefore (3.20) has the eigenfunctions
hR s 2
ns prq “ r 2 F1 pń, s ` 1; n ` s ` 1; r q, (3.26)
with eigenvalues (3.25). Note that hR R˚ R

ns is real, therefore hns “ hns . To this order,
R R
the velocity (right) eigenfunctions vr,ns , vθ,ns are related to hR
ns by (3.18) and (3.19).
Let us now see how non-zero values of α and σ affect the eigenvalues (3.25).
Rewrite (3.16) in the form
R R R R
ipL ` αδLqpψns ` δψns q “ pω0,ns ` δωns qpψns ` δψns q, (3.27)
where the operators iL and iδL are

¨ ˛
0 ´ 1r dr
d
prρT F ´ isr ρT F
d
iL “ i ˝ ´ 21 dr 0 0 ‚, (3.28)
˚ ‹
is
´ 2r 0 0
¨ 1 d
˛
´2σρT F ` α ´ r dr
pru 0 0
d
iα δL “ i ˝ 0 pu 0 ‚, (3.29)
˚ ‹
´ dr
0 ´ isr u 0
R
and ψns “ phR R R T
ns , vr,ns , vθ,ns q denotes a right eigenfunction of iL. At first order in
the perturbation,
R R R
δωns ψns “ piL ´ ω0,ns q δψns ` iα δLψns . (3.30)
If iL were self-adjoint, we could find δωns as in standard perturbation theory,

R ˚
multiplying (3.30) by pψns q , integrating over the whole domain, and making use
of the identity ż ż
d2 x pψns
R ˚
q iL “ ω0,ns d2 x pψns
R ˚
q . (3.31)
However, since iL is not self-adjoint, left eigenfunctions are generally not the
complex conjugate of right eigenfunctions.2 Instead we have

ż ż ż
2 L R 2 L R
δωns d x ψns ψns “ iα d x ψns δL ψns ` d2 x ψns
L R
piL ´ ω0,ns q δψns , (3.32)
?
where the integral is over the disk of radius rT F “ µ,
ż ż ?µ ż 2π
2
d x“ r dr dθ. (3.33)
0 0
In order to solve for δωns , we need to find the left eigenfunctions. Since left
and right eigenfunctions have the same eigenvalues, we need to impose that, for
any ψ, ż ż
I“ d2 x ψns
L
iL ψ “ ω0,ns d2 x ψns
L
ψ (3.34)
so that the last term in (3.32) vanishes. Using (3.28) and writing ψ “ ph, vr , vθ qT ,
2
Left and right eigenvalues are always equal. Suppose v L is a right eigenvector (column
vector) of a linear operator A with eigenvalue λL and v R a right eigenvector (row vector) with
eigenvalue λR ,
v L A “ λL v L , Av R “ λR v R .
Taking the adjoint of the first equation we have

` ˘: ` ˘˚ ` L ˘:
A: v L “ λL v .
Left eigenvalues of A therefore satisfy the equation

´ ` ˘˚ ¯ ` ˘˘˚
det A: ´ λL I “ det A ´ λL I
`
“ 0,
which has the same solutions as the equation for the right eigenvalues
det A ´ λR I “ 0.
` ˘
Therefore λL “ λR “ λ and
` ˘: ` ˘:
A: v L “ λ v L ,
Av R “ λv R .
If A “ A: then we also have v L “ pv R q: , but this is not generally true.

L
ψns “ phLns , vr,ns
L L
, vθ,ns q we have
ż „ ˆ ˙ 
2 L i d s L i dh L s
I“ d x hns ´ prρT F vr q ` ρT F vθ ´ vr,ns ` vθ,ns h . (3.35)
r dr r 2 dr 2r
Using (3.17), (3.18), (3.19), one can verify that (3.34) is satisfied provided that
` ˘˚ ` R ˘˚ ` R ˘˚
hLns “ hR
ns “ hR
ns ,
L
vr,ns “ 2ρT F vr,ns , L
vθ,ns “ 2ρT F vθ,ns . (3.36)
The shift in frequency δωns is then, up to first order in α and σ,

ş
d2 x ψ L δL ψ R
δωns “ iα ş 2 nsL R ns . (3.37)
d x ψns ψns
Let us evaluate (3.37) explicitly. To first order in pumping and decay, ρ and u
are given by (3.13). Therefore the denominator of (3.37) is
ż ż ´
2 L R
` R 2 ˘¯
d x ψns ψns “ d2 x |hR
ns | 2
` 2ρ TF |v r,ns | ` |v R
θ,ns | 2
ż ˜ ˆ R ˙2 2
` R ˘2 ¸ (3.38)
` ˘ 2 ρ T F dh ns s ρ T F hns
“ d2 x hR
ns ` 2 ` 2
,
2ω0,ns dr 2ω0,ns r2
?
having used (3.18), (3.19). Since pρT F rqp µq “ pρT F rqp0q “ 0, integrating the
second term by part,
ż
d2 x ψns
L R
ψns
ż ?µ ˆ ˆ ˙ ˙
R 1 d dhR
ns ρT F d2 hRns s2 ρT F h
“ 2π hns ´ 2
ρT F r ´ 2 2
` 2 2 rhR ns
2rω dr dr 2ω dr 2ω0,ns r
ż 0 0,ns 0,ns
` ˘2
“ 2 d2 x hR ns ,
(3.39)
having used (3.20) for the last equality.

The numerator of (3.37) is, using (3.29), (3.18), (3.19),

ż
iα d2 x ψns
L R
δL ψns “
ż ˆ
` ˘2
“ 2πi dr r pα ´ 2σρT F q hR ns ´
` R
˘ ˆ ˙ ˙
hR
ns d r u h ns ρT F dhR
ns d dhR
ns s2 u ρT F R dhR
ns
´ 2 u ´ 2 h .
r dr 2ω0,ns dr dr dr 2ω0,ns r2 ns dr
(3.40)
?
Since up0q “ up µq “ 0, integrating by parts the second and third terms we obtain
ż
iα d2 x ψnsL R
δL ψns
ż ” ` ˘2
“ d x pα ´ 2σρT F q hR
2
ns
ˆ ˆ ˙ ˙ (3.41)
dhRns R 1 d dhR
ns s2 ρT F R ı
ù hns ` 2 ρT F r ´ 2 h
dr 2ω0,ns r dr dr 2ω0,ns r2 ns
ż
` ˘2
“ i d2 x pα ´ 2σρT F q hR ns ,
having used (3.20). Therefore

ş ` ˘2
i d2 x pα ´ 2σρT F q hR ns i` @ 2 D˘
δωns “ ş 2 “ α ´ 2σµ ` 2σ r
2 d2 x phR
ns q
2
ˆ ˙ (3.42)
iα 3 @ 2 D
“ r ´2 ,
2 µ
having used the relation µ “ 3α{p2σq to eliminate σ and defined

ş 2 2 ` R ˘2
@ 2D d x r hns
r “ ş 2 . (3.43)
d2 x phR
ns q
As we can see from equation (3.42), any mode that transfers density to large radius,
and therefore has a large expectation value of r2 , has a positive imaginary part
and therefore destabilises the system.
In order to evaluate xr2 y multiply equation (3.20) by r2 ρT F dhR

ns {dr obtaining
ˆ ˙2 ˆ ˙ ` R ˘2
1 d dhR s2 ρ2T F d hns
rρT F ns “ 2
´ ω0,ns r 2 ρT F . (3.44)
2 dr dr 2 dr
?
Since pρT F rqp0q “ pρT F rqp µq “ 0, hR
ns p0q “ 0, integrating by parts,
ż ?µ ˆ ˙2 ż ?µ ˆ 2 2 ˙ ` R ˘2
1 d dhR
ns s ρT F 2 2 d hns
0“ dr ρT F r “ dr ´ ω0,ns ρT F r
2 0 dr dr 0 2 dr
ż ?µ ˆ 2 2 ˙
d s ρT F 2
` ˘2
“´ dr ´ ω0,ns ρT F r2 hRns .
0 dr 2
(3.45)
It follows
ż ?µ ż ?µ
ps2 ` 2ω0,ns
2
q r dr r2 phR 2 2 2
ns q “ µpω0,ns ` s q r drphR 2
ns q , (3.46)
0 0
hence
@ 2D s2 ` ω0,ns
2
r “µ 2 2
, (3.47)
s ` 2ω0,ns
and
s2 ´ ω0,ns
2
ˆ ˙ ˆ ˙
iα iα s2 ´ sp1 ` 2nq ´ 2npn ` 1q
δωns “ 2
“ . (3.48)
2 s2 ` 2ω0,ns 2 s2 ` 2sp1 ` 2nq ` 4npn ` 1q
For any fixed n, there is always an s, e.g. s " n, such that (3.48) has a positive
imaginary part. A similar analysis shows that the instability is still present if the
relaxation term η in (2.32) has a non-zero value [14].
3.3 Robustness
In this section, based on [14], three different kinds of perturbations are considered:
non-circular geometry of the trap, disorder and changes to the modelling equation.
3.3.1 Elliptical Deformations of the Trap
Figure 3.2: Density (colour map) and superfluid streamlines (arrows) for different
sizes of the pumping spot, whose boundary is denoted by a red ellipse. Left
(δ “ 0.9, R “ 7): the surface instability leads to a spontaneously formed lattice
with vortices moving along elliptical trajectories. Right (δ “ 0.9, R “ 4): if the
pumping spot is smaller than rTF the instability does not appear.
Consider equation (3.1) with the circular trap replaced by an elliptical one,
x2
r Ñ 2 ` δ2y2.
2
(3.49)
δ
The parameter δ, is related to the eccentricity ε of the ellipse by the relation

a
ε “ 1 ´ 1{δ 4 . Pumping is constant inside the ellipse x2 {δ 2 ` δ 2 y 2 “ R2 . Since
we are considering pumping at twice threshold, the value of α outside the pumping
spot is the same as the one inside but with the opposite sign: with respect to (3.1),
„ ˆ ˆ 2 ˙˙ ˆˆ 2 ˙ ˙
2 x 2 2 x 2 2 2
αÑα Θ R ´ `δ y ´Θ `δ y ´R , (3.50)
δ2 δ2
where Θ is the Heaviside function.
Figure 3.3: The averaged orbits of three vortices (green, magenta and orange
ellipses) superimposed over the density profile of the condensate at the moment
when the vortex tracing has been started. The initial positions of the traced
vortices are denoted by green, magenta and orange crosses. The red, solid ellipse
marks the boundary of the pumping spot.
As in the circular case, the surface instability appears only if R ą rT F , see

figure 3.2. We have investigated the effects of a varying δ while keeping R “ 7
fixed. For not too eccentric traps, a rotating vortex lattice with vortices moving
along elliptical orbits still forms, as shown in figure 3.3.
The vortices orbits have been found by tracing the positions of individual vor-
tices from a time step to the following one and averaging over several revolutions.
The position of a vortex at time t ` δt has been found by searching for a minimum
of the density taking the position of the vortex at time t as the starting point of
Figure 3.4: Left (δ “ 0.85): the regular vortex lattice is broken up, with some vor-
tices still moving along regular elliptic orbits. Right (δ “ 0.80): as δ decreases, the
rotating lattice gives way to a fragmented state with vortices continually entering
and leaving the cloud.
the search. Because vortices have a definite sense of rotation, the motion is not
symmetric around the major axis, and the resulting lattice is tilted with respect
to the trap.
For a sufficiently eccentric geometry, a steady array of vortices fails to form.
There is a critical δ „ 0.85 for which some vortices still move on elliptical orbits,
see figure 3.4, left panel. At δ “ 0.8, the behaviour is entirely chaotic, with
vortices continually entering and leaving the cloud, see figure 3.4, right panel,
causing fragmentation of the condensate.
In the limit of extreme eccentricity, the condensate tries to establish a density
profile of approximately uniform width along the trap major axis, leading to a less
fragmented condensate at δ À 0.2, see figure 3.5. Instability towards the entrance
of vortices is still present: vortices entering and leaving the cloud cause transverse
oscillations. As illustrated in the bottom right panel of figure 3.5, vortices of
opposite signs may be present. The distribution of vortices of different sign may
Figure 3.5: Top left (δ “ 0.25): in a highly eccentric trap, the condensate tries
to establish a profile of approximately uniform width along the trap major axis
— the vertical direction in the figure. Instability towards the entrance of vortices
leads to transverse oscillations. Note that the vertical axis has been rescaled in
order to accommodate the extreme eccentricity. Top right (δ “ 0.1): extreme
eccentricity suppresses fragmentation of the cloud. Transverse oscillations develop
at the midpoint. Bottom left (δ “ 0.1): spontaneously entering vortices cause
an effective pressure gradient, pushing the region of perturbations towards one
end of the trap. The final position of the perturbation is shown. Bottom right
(δ “ 0.1): vortices of both signs are present in the perturbed region. Arrows
indicate circulation.
lead to a net effective pressure in the condensate pushing the perturbation along
the length of the condensate until the pressure gradient disappears. This effect
is illustrated in the bottom left panel of figure 3.5 which shows the final position
of the region of perturbations. Note that a true stationary state is not obtained:
oscillations are still present.
3.3.2 Effects of Disorder on the Rotating State

In the samples used in experiments disorder is always present [79]. We take this
into account by including a disorder term Vdis pxq in the potential Vext pxq:
V pxq Ñ V pxq ` Vdis pxq. (3.51)
This disorder potential is modelled as a Gaussian random field with real-space

correlation function
ˆ ˙
1 2 |x ´ x 1 |2
xVdis pxqVdis px qy “ V0 exp ´ , (3.52)
2ξ 2
where the amplitude V0 measures the disorder strength, and ξ its correlation length.
The Gaussian random field Vdis pxq can be constructed by taking the Fourier
sum
1ÿ ` ˘
Vdis pxq “ aij exp i pki x ` kj y ` φij q , (3.53)
2 i,j
with kí “ ´ki , k´j “ ´kj , φí´j “ ´φij . The phases φij are random numbers
in the interval r0, 2πq. The amplitudes aij “ aí´j are sampled from a Gaussian
distribution with zero mean and standard deviation
“ ` ˘‰
sij “ v0 exp ´lc2 ki2 ` kj2 . (3.54)
The relation between the parameters v0 and lc , defined for computational con-
venience, and the physical disorder strength V0 and correlation length ξ can be
found by noting that
xaij auv eipφij `φuv q y “ δiu δjv xa2ij e2φij y ` δiú δj´v xa2ij y “ δiú δj´v s2ij
` ˘ (3.55)
“ δiú δj´v v02 exp ´ 2lc2 pkx2 ` ky2 q .
It follows
1 ÿÿ 1 1
xVdis pxqVdis px1 qy “ xaij auv eipφij `φuv q yeipki x`kj y`ku x `kv y q
4 ij uv
1 ÿ 2 ipki px´x1 q`kj pyý1 qq
“ s e
4 ij ij
ż (3.56)
1 2 2 2 1 1
» 2
v02 e´2lc pkx `ky q eipki px´x q`kj pyý qq dkx dky
4p∆kq R2
v02 π ” px ´ x1 q2 ı
“ exp ´ ,
4p∆kq2 2lc2 8lc2
where ∆k is the numerical Fourier mode spacing and we have replaced k-space
sums by integrals. Comparing (3.52) with (3.56) we have
a
v0 π{2
ξ “ 2lc , V0 “ . (3.57)
2lc ∆k
Varying V0 and ξ we find that the formation of a vortex lattice is sensitive to

the disorder strength, with the lattice being destroyed for V0 ą Vcrit » 6.5. For
the stress trap of [10] our estimate translates in a critical disorder Vcrit » 0.4 meV,
subject to uncertainties in the estimates of experimental quantities as well as to
effects not accounted for in our model, such as relaxation mechanisms. When the
disorder strength exceeds Vcrit the behaviour is chaotic and no stationary state
forms. However, the critical amount of disorder is only weakly dependent on the
disorder correlation length ξ, as illustrated by the nearly horizontal border in the
pV0 , ξq-diagram of figure 3.6.
Figure 3.6: The figure is based on a particular realisation of the random potential
Vdis , different realisations giving very similar results. Top: a rotating vortex lattice
forms also in the presence of weak disorder (a), but is destroyed by a disorder
stronger than Vcrit , leading to a chaotic state (b). Bottom: the boundary between
vortex-lattice and chaotic regimes in the pV0 , ξq parameter space. The choices of
pV0 , ξq leading to the states (a) and (b) are indicated in the diagram. The vortex
lattice is strongly sensitive to the amount of disorder, whereas the correlation
length is only of marginal importance.
3.3.3 Changes to Model

There are a many possible changes to the simple cGLE model (3.1) that could
potentially destabilise a vortex lattice or prevent its formation: presence of repul-
sive interactions between condensate particles and reservoir particles, presence of
higher-order non-linear terms, or a finite gain linewidth leading to the appearance
of superdiffusion in the governing equations. In this section we comment briefly
on the possible consequences of these effects.
Repulsive interactions with an excitonic reservoir
Repulsive interactions between reservoir polaritons and the condensate have been
predicted theoretically [88] and detected experimentally [24, 34, 87]. For our ge-
ometry, such interactions may be modelled by adding a Gaussian potential to the
trap potential Vext pxq. The presence of this additional potential term does not
prevent the formation of the vortex lattice, but increases the probability of having
a central stationary vortex, as the reservoir provides a pinning site. The repulsion
due to the Gaussian reservoir may further change the structure of the lattice: for
example a sharp and narrow Gaussian favours a square lattice.
Higher order non-linearities
One may consider higher-order corrections to polariton interactions in the form of

a quintic non-linearity in the cGLE. In some cases, inclusion of quintic terms in
cGLE models is known to change the stability of the solutions [3]. We have checked
that the introduction of such terms in our model does not have any pronounced
effect on the vortex lattice formation.
Superdiffusion
Lasers emit particular transverse modes that depend on the detuning between
the longitudinal modes of the reservoir (controlled by the resonator length) and
the frequency at which gain is maximum [4]. If such gain selection is relevant to
the polariton condensates, the right-hand side of equation (3.1) acquires a term
iνp∇2 ` ∆q2 ψ, where ∆ is the detuning of the gain above the lowest transverse
mode. Such mechanisms have not been extensively discussed in the context of
polariton condensation, but the essence appears for example in [30]. Our numerical
simulations show that although the lattice survives for small values of ν, the rings
of vortices are shifted to the boundary of the condensate. The lattice disappears
for ν ą 0.1.
Chapter 4
Polariton Gyroscope
Polariton condensates allow for a high degree of experimental control. For example,
it is possible to engineer any external potential and to vary pumping in space and
time. In response to slight changes in the environment, e.g. when flows exceed some
critical velocity, when fluxes interact, when pumping powers exceed a threshold
for pattern forming instabilities, polariton condensates nucleate quantised vortices.
Therefore, one could prepare the system in a state slightly below the criticality
for vortex formation so that a tiny external perturbation will take it over the
criticality, leading to a macroscopic and easily detectable response.
This mechanism can be exploited for the construction of a polariton gyroscope.
Superfluid helium gyroscopes have already been shown to provide sensitive means
for detecting absolute rotations [7, 71], but require very low temperatures for
operation. Compared to superfluid helium gyroscopes, polariton-based ones offer
the advantage of potentially operating at room temperatures and of allowing easy
experimental control of many of their properties.
Section 4.1 introduces the apparatus. Section 4.2 discusses the rôle of the
external potential in controlling the vortex formation mechanism in a simplified
1-dimensional configuration, where analytical estimates for the condensate wave
function can be made. Section 4.3 illustrates the 2-dimensional model and presents
the results of numerical simulations.
4.1 The Apparatus

The spectrum of low-energy excitations of a polariton condensate is purely imagi-
nary for low momentum, see appendix A.1, therefore a direct application of Lan-
dau’s criterion for superfluidity would give a vanishing critical velocity. However
theoretical studies taking into account the non-equilibrium properties of the system
and results of recent experiments both indicate that polariton condensates share
with superfluids the ability of flowing with very low friction at small velocities
[1, 89].
74
Chapter 4. Polariton Gyroscope 75
The basic setup of our gyroscope is similar to that proposed for superfluid
helium gyroscopes [71]: an annulus filled with superfluid having a partition with
a small opening, see figure 4.1. We denote by R1 the inner radius of the annulus
and by R2 the outer radius. We assume that R2 ´ R1 ! R1 , and denote by R the
mean radius pR2 ` R1 q{2.
If an annulus filled with polariton condensate is rotated counterclockwise about
a central axis with angular velocity Ω “ Ω B z , the condensate experiences negligible
friction with boundaries and remains motionless. If a partition is inserted into the
annulus, a rotation of the apparatus sets the condensate in motion with a speed
given in first approximation by the rigid body value ΩR [71]. If the partition has a
small opening (weak link) of width δ, the flow is not significantly affected far from
it but a flow in the direction opposite to that of rotation is generated through the
opening. To leading order, the velocity across the aperture is given by U “ ΩR2 {δ,
with corrections due to the non-zero compressibility of a polariton fluid. Typical
values of R and δ for existing apparatuses are R „ 0.1 m, δ „100 nm, providing
an amplification factor R{δ „ 106 .
If U exceeds some critical value Uc , vortices are nucleated and can be detected
as phase slips. In the case of superfluid 4 He Uc „ 50 m/s. However for polariton
condensates Uc is of the order of equilibrium sound speed [89], given, for typical
values of the condensate density, by 1 – 5 µm/ps = 1 – 5 ¨106 m/s. Therefore
the high critical velocity of polariton condensates could limit the sensitivity of the
apparatus.
However, and here is the novelty of the approach that we propose, the veloc-
ities needed to start vortex nucleation can be greatly reduced by using pumping
strength as a control parameter and by engineering an external potential through
the weak link, see figure 4.1. Such a potential, which accelerates the condensate
and allows to control the vortex nucleation process, can be prepared either by us-
ing a combination of etching [28, 49, 9] and stress induced traps [10], or by directly
defining blue-shifted trap potentials via spatial light modulators [85].
Even in the absence of any externally applied flow, velocity fluxes connecting
regions where the density is low (at the potential peak) to regions where the den-
sity is high (at the potential dip) will be generated; in between them there will
be a point where the condensate speed takes its maximum value. Close to such a
U
Pumping Vext
Figure 4.1: Schematic of the apparatus: an annulus filled with polariton conden-
sate having a partition with a weak link. If the flow across the link is high enough,
vortices are generated. The inset shows a cross section of the external potential
through the weak link.
point, the density has a local minimum (Bernoulli effect). A slight change of some
experimentally accessible parameter, e.g. an increase of the potential strength, or
a decrease of the pumping intensity, will further lower the density. If the pertur-
bation is large enough, the density minimum will reach zero and a vortex pair will
be emitted, as we illustrate in section 4.3.
The procedure for measuring rotations follows: having prepared a potential
such that the system is in a slightly subcritical configuration for the range of rota-
tion speeds that one intends to measure, the pumping strength is varied, recording
the moment at which vortices start being nucleated. From this, once the appara-
tus has been calibrated, one can deduce the back-flow through the weak link and,
therefore, the rotational velocity.
4.2 Effects of the External Potential

We first discuss the effects of the external potential in the simpler case of a 1D
system, where the rôle of vortices is played by travelling holes. Equation (2.32) in
1D becomes
” ´ ¯ı
2pη ´ iqpBt ´ U Bx qψ “ Bx2 ´ 1D
Vext 2 2
´ |ψ| ´ i α ´ σ|ψ| ψ. (4.1)
We take an external potential of the form
1D
` ` ˘ ˘
Vext pxq “ V0 exp ´px ` x0 q2 ´ expp´px ´ x0 q2 q . (4.2)
1D
The peak-dip shape of Vext allows for a better acceleration of the condensate than
a single bump; moreover, in 2D the dip temporarily traps vortices making their
detection easier. To simplify the analysis, we study the effects of this potential for
U “ 0.
HaL 8 HbL 8 min Ρ

min Ρ
6 6
4 4
2 max u 2 max u
0 0
1 2 3 4 0 5 10 15
V0 V0
Figure 4.2: Dependence of max(u) and min(ρ) on V0 . (a) 1D system, x0 “ 1.5. The
black dashed and blue dot-dashed lines show the results of numerical simulations,
the red lines the analytical estimates. The analytical solution is only valid up to
V0 „ 4.0. (b) 2D system, x0 “ 1.5. The black dashed and blue dot-dashed lines
show the results of numerical simulations.
After performing a Madelung transformation, equation (4.1), gives the system
pρuq1 “ pα ´ σρ ´ ηµq ρ (4.3)

? 2 ?
µ “ ρ ` u2 ` Vext
1D
pxq ´ p ρq { ρ. (4.4)
The speed u takes its maximum at some point between the maximum, close to
´x0 and and the minimum, close to x0 , of Vext . As follows from (4.4), which is a
generalised Bernoulli equation, in proximity of the speed maximum the density has
a local minimum. The numerical results displayed in figure 4.2 show that maxpuq
HaL 2.0 HbL 12

V0=4 11
1.5
V0=3 10
1.0
9
Ρ
u
V0=2
0.5 8
V0=1
0.0 7
6
-0.5
-4 -2 0 2 4 -4 -2 0 2 4
x x
Figure 4.3: (a) Numerical (black dashed lines) and analytical estimates (red solid
lines) of the condensate velocity as V0 is increased from 1 to 4. (b) Numerical
solutions for ρ with V0 “ 1.4, 2.0, 2.6, 3.2, 3.8, 4.4. Higher values of V0 correspond
to lower values of min(ρ). In both figures x0 “ 1.5.
is an increasing function of V0 and min(ρ) a decreasing one.

This behaviour can be verified analytically by deriving an approximate solution
of the system (4.3), (4.4). For very small V0 it is natural to expect a dip-peak
density profile, that is inverted with respect to that of the potential; however,
for higher values of V0 , there will be an additional minimum due to the Bernoulli
effect. Therefore we take an ansatz for the density of the form
α
ρ“ ` B expp´bpx ´ x3 q2 q ` C exppćpx ´ x1 q2 q ´ Q expp´qpx ´ x2 q2 q,
σ`η
(4.5)
where b, B, c, C, q, Q, x1 , x2 , x3 are free parameters. Substituting in (4.3) and inte-

Figure 4.4: Travelling holes, identified by the localised low-density blue region,
form around x “ 0, and travel up to x „ 1.5. The process repeats periodically in
time. (V0 “ 4.8, x0 “ 1.5, α “ 4).
grating we have
? «
?
ff
πασ Q ? B C `? ˘
ρu “ ? erf p qx̃3 q ´ ? erfp bx̃1 q ´ ? erf cx̃2
2pσ ` ηq q b c
c « ff
π σ B2 ? C2 ? Q2 a
´ ? erfp 2bx̃1 q ` ? erfp 2cx̃2 q ` ? erfp 2qx̃3 q
22 b c q
« (4.6)
?
` πσ ´ EpB, C, b, c, x1 , x2 q ` EpB, Q, b, q, x1 , x3 q
ff
` EpC, Q, c, q, x2 , x3 q ,
where x̃i ” x ´ xi , xij ” xi ´ xj and
b c x2ij
ˆ ˙ ˆ ˙
BC bx̃i ` cx̃j
EpB, C, b, c, xi , xj q “ ? exp ´ erf ? . (4.7)
b`c b`c b`c
Let Ṽext pxq be the potential obtained substituting ρ and u from (4.5) and (4.6)
in (4.4) and which contains the unknown parameters B, C, Q, b, c, q, x1 , x2 , x3 . The

values of these parameters can be fixed by requiring Ṽext pxq to fit the original
1D
potential Vext pxq. A comparison of the analytical and numerical solutions for u is
shown in panel (a) of figure 4.3, while numerical solutions for ρ corresponding to
various values of V0 are shown in panel (b).
The dependence of max(u) and min(ρ) on V0 is mostly linear up to V0 “ 4,
see figure 4.2 panel (a). However, for V0 ą Vc „ 4.4, a deviation from the linear
regime quickly leads to the loss of stability of the stationary solutions. The time
dependent solutions found for V0 ą 4.4 are characterised by the periodic emission
of travelling holes [57], which travel for a short time before dissipating, see figure
4.4. As a hole is emitted, the density vanishes in correspondence of the point of
emission.
As we can see, varying an experimentally tunable parameter, in this case the
strength of the potential, leads to an easily detectable response of the system, in
this case the emission of travelling holes. As we shall see, similar mechanisms
operate in 2D.
4.3 The Model in 2D

In two dimensions we have the equation
Figure 4.5: Real space plots of the zero level of real (black continuous line) and
imaginary (grey dashed line) part of ψ superimposed over the contour plot of ρ.
Regions of higher density are in warmer colours. (a) (α “ 4, V0 “ 16.8, x0 “ 1.5,
U “ 0): a slightly subcritical configuration. (b) (α “ 4, V0 “ 16.8, x0 “ 1.5,
U “ 0.2): a slightly supercritical configuration at the moment of vortex pair
formation. A red arrow shows the direction of the flow; a red dot marks the point
where the vortex pair is being generated.
” ´ ¯ı
2pη ´ iq pBt ` U ¨ ∇q ψ “ ∇2 ´ Vext
2D
´ |ψ|2 ´ i α ´ σ|ψ|2 ψ, (4.8)
where U „ ΩR is the bulk speed of the condensate, and
2D
` ˘
Vext px, yq “ V0 expp´ppx ` x0 q2 ` y 2 qq ´ expp´ppx ´ x0 q2 ` y 2 qq . (4.9)
The dependence of max(u) and min(ρ) on V0 is similar to the one we observed

in the 1-dimensional case, see figure 4.2 panel (b). When V0 exceeds some critical
value, stationary solutions again become unstable. In two dimensions the outcome
of this instability is the nucleation of vortex pairs. There is, however, one notable
difference with the 1D case: while in the latter the emission of travelling holes sets
in at a finite value of minpρq, in 2D there are stationary solutions all the way down
to min(ρ)“ 0, see the right panel of figure 4.2.
Figure 4.6: The 3D plots show the density of the condensate, with the external
potential superimposed in yellow. The 2D contour plots give the projection of the
density values on the x-y plane, with regions of higher density in warmer colours.
The direction of the flow is from the left to the right. (a) (V0 “ 14, x0 “ 1.5, α “ 4,
U “ 0.4): an supercritical state. A vortex pair has been temporarily trapped by
the dip in the potential. (b) (V0 “ 14, x0 “ 1.5, α “ 4, U “ 0): a subcritical
stationary solution.
If the system is close enough to criticality, vortex nucleation can be initiated

also by a small increase of the external velocity U or by a decrease of the pumping
strength α. An example of the process is illustrated in figure 4.5, where the onset
of vortex nucleation is caused by an increase in U . Representatives of supercritical
and subcritical states are shown in figure 4.6.
0.6
10-3
0.8
0.4
0.1
4.00 4.01
M
Vortex nucleation
0.2
No vortices
0.
3. 3.5 4. 4.5
Α
Figure 4.7: The main plot shows part of the boundary between supercritical and
subcritical regions of phase space with respect to the parameters M “ U {Uc , with
Uc the equilibrium sound speed, and α for V0 “ 14, x0 “ 1.5. The inset has been
obtained with a different value of the potential strength, V0 “ 16.8, x0 “ 1.5 and
gives an idea of the attainable resolution for small values of M .
In many experimental configurations, the most convenient control parameter

is the pumping strength α. Figure 4.7 shows the critical values of α which start
vortex nucleation for fixed V0 and different values of M “ U {Uc . The boundary
U pαq between subcritical and supercritical behaviour is, for M À 0.5, nearly linear,
hence the sensitivity of the apparatus scales linearly with α or, equivalently, with
the bulk density α{pσ ` ηq of the condensate.
For appropriate choices of V0 , in our numerical simulations the system showed
a clear transition between subcritical and supercritical states down to velocities
a
U „ 10´4 Uc , with Uc “ µ{m the equilibrium sound speed, corresponding to a
minimum detectable angular velocity of „ 10´4 Hz, close to the Earth angular
velocity of „ 7 ¨ 10´5 Hz. A proper discussion of the apparatus sensitivity, which
would require to consider the dependence of the critical speed Uc on the temper-
ature and on the geometry of the aperture and to account for noise sources, is
outside the scope of this work, whose aim is to illustrate the basic idea. Improv-
ing on the basic setup discussed here, e.g. by considering external potentials of a
shape leading to an even greater reduction of the critical velocity for vortex nucle-
ation, it should be possible to greatly enhance the apparatus sensitivity, possibly
matching that of superfluid helium gyroscopes, which, according to a conservative
estimate, can in principle detect angular velocities as small as „ 10´7 Hz [71], com-
parable with current-technology FOG devices, but at the advantage of potentially
operating at room temperature.
Chapter 5
Influence of the Pumping

Geometry on the Dynamics
Recent experiments have shown that polaritons injected at two spatially separated
pump spots organise themselves so to produce a system which behaves very simi-
larly to a 1-dimensional quantum harmonic oscillator [85]. Subsequent experiments
with polaritons injected at multiple pump spots have revealed the importance of
the number of pumps and of their distances in determining the dynamical be-
haviour of the system [26]. In fact, as the distance between pumps is varied, the
system shows a transition from a phase-locked but freely flowing regime to a fully
trapped state.
Section 5.1 recapitulates the results of [85]. Section 5.2 discusses the results
presented in [26]. I have contributed to the theoretical work leading to [26] and
performed all the numerical simulations.
5.1 A Quantum Harmonic Oscillator

Consider a system where polaritons are injected at two different pump spots. Be-
cause of the repulsive interactions between polaritons and reservoir excitons, the
polaritons at each spot will feel an effective potential of approximately Gaussian
shape, see figure 5.1, panel (a). Descending the respective potential hills, the two
condensates soon come into contact and lock in phase so that the resulting system
can be described by a single wave function.
The phase-locking mechanism can be understood by analysing the temporal
?
dynamics of the phases of the two condensates. Let ψ1 “ ρ1 exppi φ1 q, ψ2 “
?
ρ2 exppi φ2 q be the condensates wave functions. It is convenient to factor out a
global phase χ by writing φ1 “ χ ` φ{2, φ2 “ χ ´ φ{2. Since we are interested in
the time evolution of φ1 , φ2 , we neglect spatial dynamics and consider the coupled
85
Chapter 5. Influence of the Pumping Geometry on the Dynamics 86
Figure 5.1: Image taken from [85]. (a) The experimental setup: two pump spots
of diameter 1 µm distant 20 µm from each other. The resulting potential (in red),
combined with the effects of polariton-polariton interactions, produces quantum
oscillator states, like the one shown at the top of the panel. (b) Energy spectrum
along the line connecting the two pump spots superimposed over the shape of the
effective potential. (c) Contour plots of the observed condensate density showing
various harmonic oscillator modes. (d) Dependence of the energy on the quantum
number. (e) Hermite-Gaussian fit of the n “ 5 state.
equations
2i Bt ψ1 “ rρ1 ` p1 ´ uqρ2 ` ipα ´ σρ1 qs ψ1 ` Jψ2 , (5.1)

2i Bt ψ2 “ rρ2 ` p1 ´ uqρ1 ` ipα ´ σρ2 qs ψ2 ` Jψ1 , (5.2)
where the term 1 ´ u, with u ă 1, represents the repulsive interactions between

the two condensates and J is the Josephson coupling constant. Multiplying (5.1)
? ?
by ρ1 exppípχ ` φ{2qq, (5.2) by ρ2 exppípχ ´ φ{2qq and taking the sum yields
i Bt pρ1 ` ρ2 q ´ 2pρ1 ` ρ2 qχ9 ´ pρ1 ´ ρ2 qφ9

? “ ‰ (5.3)
“ pρ1 ` ρ2 q2 ´ 2uρ1 ρ2 ` 2J ρ1 ρ2 cos φ ` i x2 pρ1 ` ρ2 q ´ σpρ21 ` ρ22 q .
Defining
ρ1 ` ρ2 ρ1 ´ ρ2
R“ , z“ (5.4)
2 2
and separating real and imaginary part one obtains the equations
?
2R χ9 ` z φ9 “ ´2R2 ` upR2 ´ z 2 q ´ J R2 ´ z 2 cos φ, (5.5)
R9 “ αR ´ σpR2 ` z 2 q. (5.6)
? ?
Similarly, multiplying (5.1) by ρ1 exppípχ ` φ{2qq, (5.2) by ρ2 exppípχ ´
φ{2qq, taking the difference and separating real and imaginary part yields
?
z9 “ zpα ´ 2σRq ´ J R2 ´ z 2 sin φ, (5.7)
Rφ9 ` 2z χ9 “ ´2R z. (5.8)
Eliminating χ9 from (5.5), (5.8) we obtain the equation
Jz
φ9 “ úz ` ? 2 cos φ. (5.9)
R ´ z2
For our system uR " J, R " z therefore (5.6) reduces to R “ α{σ and (5.9)
to φ9 “ úz. Hence
uJα
φ: “ úz9 “ uαz ` sin φ
σ (5.10)
uJα
“ ´αφ9 ` sin φ.
σ
Therefore the phase difference φ “ φ1 ´ φ2 decays exponentially with time scale α

and we can describe the system in terms of a single wave function ψ.
If the pumping power is high enough, the combined effects of the exciton-
induced potential and of the repulsive polariton-polariton interactions result in an
effective potential
Veff “ Vex ` |ψ|2 (5.11)
which is remarkably quadratic, see panel (b) of figure 5.1. As a consequence,

the polariton condensate behaves like a “macroscopic” (the separation between
the pumps is of the order of 10 µm) 1-dimensional quantum oscillator, see figure
5.1 panels (b), (c), (d), (e). Since the system is not confined in the direction
transverse to the line connecting the two pumps, polaritons outflow in this direction
is observed.
5.2 Multiple Pumps

Let us consider the behaviour of the system if polaritons are injected at multiple
pump spots placed along a circle of diameter d [26]. As with two pumps, the slowly
Figure 5.2: Image from [26] showing the observed transition from locked to trapped
condensate. (a) The experimental setup: a spatial light modulator images various
pump spots onto the microcavity. (b)-(i) Contour plots of the condensate density
for various numbers of pumps and different separations. The dashed red circles
denote the boundaries of the pumping spots. The pump separation decreases
from top to bottom. (b)-(d) Examples of locked configurations. (e)-(i) Examples
of trapped configurations. (h)-(i) If pumping is extended over an annulus only
trapped configurations are possible.
diffusing exciton population created in the vicinity of each pump spot produces a
local blue-shift of strength up to about 2 meV and decay length of approximately
Figure 5.3: Figure from [26] showing the dependence of the power threshold on the
number and geometry of pump spots. The different regimes are denoted by the
Roman numerals I (pumps effectively overlapping, no trap), II (trapped configura-
tion) and III (locked configuration). (a) Dependence of the condensation threshold
on the number of pumps and their separation. (b) Phase diagram from the numer-
ical simulations (dashed lines). Colours correspond to the threshold values in (a).
(c) Data replotted as injected power per spot vs nearest distance between pump
spots. (d) Condensation threshold vs number of pump spots. The pump spots are
arranged along a circle of diameter d “ 50 µm.
4 µm. The resulting potential can be modelled by a sum of Gaussians centred at

the pump positions,
N ˆ ˙
ÿ |x ´ xi |2
V pxq “ V0 exp ´ , (5.12)
i“1
2ld2
where N is the total number of pumps, xi is the position of the centre of the i-th
pump, V0 » 2 meV is the depth of the trap at the centre of the pump spot and
ld is the characteristic length over which excitons diffuse. Condensates forming
in correspondence of the different pump spots are accelerated by this potential,
interact and phase-lock, forming a single coherent condensate.
The behaviour of the system is highly sensitive to the number of pumps and
their distances. In fact, if d is less then some critical distance dc „ 30 µm, the con-
densate flips from a freely flowing but phase-locked regime to a spatially trapped
configuration, see figures 5.2 and 5.3. A higher pumping power facilitates the
transition and a larger number of pumps leads to a larger value of dc .
For d ą dc the condensate is in the locked regime (III). The system is not
trapped and polaritons outflow is observed. The cooperative behaviour of conden-
sates produced at different spots is evident from figure 5.3, panel (c), which shows
how the power per pump needed to reach the condensation threshold is, for N ą 2,
less than the single pump value of 11 mW, and from figure 5.3, panel (d), which
shows a sublinear increase with N of the total power need to obtain condensation.
For d ă dc the condensate undergoes a turbulent phase in which vortices are
continuously nucleated and destroyed. If d is further reduced, the system enters
a new stable configuration, the trapped regime (II). The condensate is now fully
confined and no polariton outflow is observed. This regime can be clearly observed
in figure 5.3, panel (a), as a pronounced drop in the threshold power. Within
the trapped regime, larger values of d generate a higher variety of 2D harmonic
oscillator states, see figure 5.2 panels (f), (h), while smaller values of d lead to a
Gaussian-shaped ground state, see figure 5.2 panels (e), (g).
Finally, for even smaller distances (d ă 12 µm), the potentials generated at
different pump spots overlap so much that the resulting potential has no central
minimum, but rather expels the condensate (regime III). The transition to this
different behaviour shows up as an increase in the threshold power in figure 5.3,

panel (a). As expected, in the limit d Ñ 0 the power threshold becomes equal to
that of a single pump.
Figure 5.4: Image from [26] showing the shape of the trap for (a) N “ 3, (b)
N “ 4, (c) N “ 6. Panels (d) - (e) show a cross section of the potentials (a) -
(c) along a line passing through the trap centre (blue dashed line) and through
two neighbouring pumps (red dashed line). Black arrows mark the effective trap
depth.
Two extreme cases show a different behaviour: for N “ 2 no fully trapped

state is possible, while if pumping is extended to an annulus only the trapped
configuration is admitted.
The observed behaviour can be partly understood by looking at the shape of
the trap as a function of d and N . For a fixed value of d, the trap is very shallow
if N is small, see figure 5.4, and polaritons can easily leak out from the gaps in
between pumps. This, as can be seen in figure 5.3, panel (c), leads to an increase in
the power per pump needed to obtain polariton condensation. As N is increased,
the gaps in the trap close, and the centre of the trap acquires a deep potential
minimum of circular shape which better supports the trapped configuration. If
N is kept fixed and d is decreased the trap becomes shallower. Eventually the
different pumps overlap so much that the trap disappears completely and what is
left is a single potential hill.
Figure 5.5: Figure from [26]. Comparison between experimental data (a)-(c) and
results of numerical simulations (d)-(f). The intermediate regime occurring in
passing from the locked to the trapped regime is characterised by a chaotic dy-
namics with vortices continuously forming and annihilating. Experimental images
are averaged over time and cannot show the dynamics of individual vortices. To
compare with experiments, panel (e) shows dynamics averaged in time, while pan-
els (d) and (f) show single snapshots of stationary configurations.
Quantum pressure plays a fundamental rôle in determining the transition from

locked to trapped configuration by preventing the condensate from accumulating
at the centre of the trap if d ą dc . Polariton outflows from different pumps create
standing waves whose wavelength ξ, which is inversely proportional to the veloc-
ity of the outflow, sets the length scale over which significant density fluctuations
occur. When pump spots are well separated the outflow velocity is large and ξ is
comparable with the healing length (2.39) of the system, which is approximately
1 µm. Quantum pressure is then important and, as revealed by numerical sim-

ulations, see figure 5.6 panels (c) and (d), generates a repulsive potential which
prevents the condensate from accumulating at the bottom of the trap. As pumps
get closer, the wavelength of density fluctuations becomes larger and quantum
pressure becomes negligible. At that point, the condensate accumulates in the
centre of the trap.
The experimental behaviour and the transition from locked to trapped regime
are well reproduced by numerical simulations of equation (2.32), see figure 5.5.
In the simulations, the potential caused by the repulsive interactions between
polaritons and reservoir excitons is modelled as Vext pxq “ V0 f pxq, with
N
ÿ ` ˘
f pxq “ exp ´wpx ´ xi q2 , (5.13)
i“1
where w “ 0.03, matching the experimental diffusion length ld „ 4 µm. Polariton

gain, non-linear loss and relaxation are concentrated near the pumps and are best
fit by the choice of parameters
α “ f pxq, σ “ 0.3f pxq, η “ 0.1f pxq. (5.14)
The key rôle played by quantum pressure in the transition from locked to
trapped state can be clearly seen in figure 5.6: for d ą dc quantum pressure
generates a repulsive potential which prevents the condensate from reaching the
centre of the trap, see panel (c). As the distance between pumps is reduced the
quantum pressure contribution drops and the condensate density at the centre of
the trap increases, see panel (d).
Figure 5.6: Figure taken from [26]. Left: numerically obtained velocity profiles
(grey scale and arrows) for the locked (a) and trapped (b) regimes. Red crosses
denote the pump positions ad white contours show the polariton density. Right:
cross sections of (a) and (b) along the red dashed lines showing the pump-induced
potential (V ), the quantum pressure (QP) and the condensate density (ρ). In (c)
and (d) the blue dashed line marks the centre of the pump spot. Black arrows
show the points at which the condensate density is highest.
Part II
Geometrical Models of Matter
95
Chapter 6
Background Material
Section 6.1 reviews some useful material on self-dual and Einstein manifolds. Sec-
tion 6.2 briefly introduces the geometrical models of matter framework [6]. Section
6.3, presents gravitational instantons, and in particular the ALF Ak´1 and ALF
Dk subclasses whose rôle as models for charged multi-particle systems is studied
in chapters 7 and 8. Other reference material has been put in appendix B.
6.1 Geometrical Preliminaries

In this section we briefly review the definitions of self-dual and Einstein manifolds
and some of their properties. A highly rigorous mathematical presentation can
be found in [12], while [66] is more in line with the notation and style used in
theoretical physics.
6.1.1 Self-duality
Let pM, gq be an oriented Riemannian manifold of dimension n. Denote by Ωp pM q
the space of smooth differential p-forms on M . For α, β P Ωp pM q denote by p, q
the product
1
pα, βq “ pβ, αq “ αa1 ...ap β a1 ...ap . (6.1)
p!
The squared L2 -norm ||α||2 of a p-form α is the positive definite quantity1
||α||2 “ pα, αq. (6.2)
The squared L2 -norm of a vector-valued form is defined as the sum of the L2 -norm
of its independent components. For example, the squared L2 -norm ||R||2 of the
1
We are assuming that M is a Riemannian manifold. For a Lorentzian manifold (6.2) is not
positive definite.
96
curvature 2-form R is given by

ÿ ÿ
||R||2 “ ||Rab ||2 “ pRab , Rab q. (6.3)
aăb aăb
The Hodge star operator ˚ : Ωp pM q Ñ Ωn´p pM q, defined by2
α ^ ˚β “ pα, βq η, (6.4)
with η the canonical volume form of pM, gq, is an isomorphism between Ωp pM q

and Ωn´p pM q. In components
1 a1 ...ap
p˚αqap`1 ...an “ α ηa1 ...ap ap`1 ...an . (6.5)
p!
A form α is called self-dual (anti self-dual ) if ˚α “ α (˚α “ ´α).

In four dimensions, ˚2 |Ω2 pM q “ Id. Therefore one has the decomposition
Ω2 pM q “ Ω2` pM q ‘ Ω2´ pM q, (6.6)
where Ω2` pM q (Ω2´ pM q) is the subspace of Ω2 pM q consisting of self-dual (anti

self-dual) 2-forms. Note that reversing the orientation of M maps ˚ to p´1q ¨ ˚ and
therefore interchanges self-dual and anti self-dual forms.
Let M be a smooth manifold of dimension n. The tangent space E “ Tp M at a
point p P M is a representation space for the structure group GLpEq „ GLpn, Rq
of T M . The dual space E ˚ is a representation space for the dual representation,
and the various tensor product spaces constructed out of E and E ˚ are represen-
tation spaces for the appropriate tensor products of representations. If M has a
Riemannian structure it is possible to reduce the structure group from GLpn, Rq
to Opnq. If M is also oriented, it is possible to further reduce it to SOpnq.
2
Unfortunately different definitions of the Hodge star, differing by a sign, are used in the
literature.
The curvature 2-form R of a Riemannian oriented manifold M of dimension n,
1
R “ Rab ea b eb “ Rabcd ea b eb b ec ^ ed
2 (6.7)
1
“ Rabcd ea ^ eb b ec ^ ed ,
4
with Rabcd the components of the Riemann tensor, is at each point p P M an

element of S 2 pE ^ Eq, the vector space of p0, 4q tensors having the symmetries
Rabcd “ Rcdab , Rabcd “ ´Rbacd , Rabcd “ ´Rabdc . (6.8)
In addition, it satisfies the Bianchi identity
Rapbcdq “ 0, (6.9)
where parentheses denote symmetrisation with respect to the enclosed indices.

Denote by CE the subspace of S 2 pE ^ Eq which satisfies properties (6.8), (6.9).
For n ě 4, we have the following orthogonal decomposition of CE into Opnq-
irreducible modules [12],
R 1
R“ g ^g
¯ ` ¯ ` W,
g ^z (6.10)
2npn ´ 1q n´2
where W is the Weyl tensor, R is the scalar curvature, z is proportional to the

trace-free Ricci tensor and
¯ abcd “ hac kbd ` kac hbd ´ hab kcd ´ kab hcd .

ph^kq (6.11)
In components,
R ` ˘
Rabcd “ pgac gbd ´gab gcd q` gac zbd `zac gbd ´gab zcd ´zab gcd `Wabcd , (6.12)
npn ´ 1q
with Rab “ Rcacb the Ricci tensor, R “ Raa the scalar curvature and
ˆ ˙
1 R
zbd “ Rbd ´ gbd . (6.13)
n´2 n
The decomposition (6.10) is also SOpnq-irreducible if n ą 4. If n “ 4 it

is possible to further decompose the Weyl tensor into its self-dual and anti self-
dual parts W ˘ . A self-dual manifold (anti self-dual manifold )3 is an oriented
Riemannian 4-manifold with self-dual (anti self-dual) Weyl tensor, ˚W ab “ W ab
(˚W ab “ ´W ab ). In components,
1 a ef
W ηef cd “ ˘W abcd . (6.14)
2 b
A conformally flat manifold, i.e. whose Weyl tensor vanishes, is obviously self-
dual. Another class of self-dual manifolds, which will be of interest for us later, are
hyperkähler 4-manifolds. A hyperkähler manifold is a complex manifold M which
admits covariantly constant complex structures I, J, K satisfying the quaternionic
relations I 2 “ J 2 “ K 2 “ ´1, IJ “ ´JI “ K, JK “ ´KJ “ I, KI “ ÍK “ J
and such that the metric is Hermitian with respect to I, J, K.
6.1.2 Einstein Manifolds

An Einstein manifold is a Riemannian manifold pM, gq whose Ricci tensor Rab
satisfies
Rab “ k gab , (6.15)
with k P R a constant. Einstein manifolds are homogeneous at the curvature level

and can be viewed as the higher dimensional analogues of surfaces with constant
Gaussian curvature.
The scalar curvature R “ Raa of an Einstein manifold of dimension n is the
constant R “ k n. If k “ 0 then M is called Ricci-flat. 4-dimensional hyperkähler
manifolds are Ricci flat [12].
The following theorem, a proof of which can be found in [12], is used in the
classification of compact gravitational instantons discussed in section 6.3.
Let M be a compact self-dual Einstein manifold with scalar curvature R.
• If R ą 0, then M is isometric to S 4 with the round metric or to CP 2 with

3
In the mathematical literature, a manifold with self-dual Weyl tensor is also known as half
conformally flat. In the physical literature, the term self-dual manifold often refers to a manifold
having a self-dual Riemann tensor.
the Fubini-Study metric.
• If R “ 0, then M is either flat or its universal covering is a K3 surface with

the Calabi-Yau metric.
6.2 Geometric Models of Matter

The name of this section is taken from the 2012 paper [6] where the idea of mod-
elling particles with 4-dimensional manifolds has been first presented. This section
is not meant to be exhaustive, but only to summarise those ideas and notions that
will be referred to in the following chapters. Some discussion of the physical and
mathematical motivations for the model hypotheses is given in chapter 9.
According to [6], a particle is described by a 4-dimensional Riemannian oriented
manifold. The four dimensions are purely spatial. Time, and therefore dynamics,
still need to be included in the picture. The manifold is also assumed to be
complete, self-dual and Einstein.
If the particle is electrically charged, then its modelling manifold is non-compact
and describes not only the particle, but also the empty space in which the particle
resides. In order to recover the usual description of empty 3-space, flat R3 , the
manifold is required to approach asymptotically a circle fibration over R3 (or its
quotient by some finite group).
If the particle is electrically neutral, the modelling manifold is instead supposed
to be compact. In order to describe how the particle sits in empty space it is
necessary to fix a preferred embedded 2-surface S where the 4-manifold intersects
physical 3-space. The surface S appears as the “boundary” of the particle for an
external observer.
Conserved quantum numbers of a particle are encoded in the topology of the
modelling manifold. In particular, if M models an electrically charged particle,
the self-intersection number of the base of its asymptotic fibration gives minus
the electric charge. It was initially proposed that the signature of M represents
the baryon number of the modelled particle, however, as remarked in [36], this
identification is not believed to hold anymore.
A manifold modelling an elementary particle is supposed to be rotationally
symmetric, therefore should has an SOp3q or SU p2q group of isometries. The
group action should preserve the extra structure: in the non-compact case it should
be asymptotically a bundle map covering the usual SOp3q action on R3 , in the
compact case it should fix the preferred embedded 2-surface.
Concrete examples were made in [6] for a number of particles: the electron
is modelled by the Taub-NUT manifold [62], the proton by the Atiyah-Hitchin

manifold [5, 39], the neutron by CP 2 with the Fubini-Study metric.
6.3 Gravitational Instantons

A gravitational instanton is a 4-dimensional hyperkähler (therefore self-dual and
Ricci-flat) complete manifold. This definition is not universally agreed upon: some
authors insist that gravitational instantons are not compact. Some decay condition
is usually imposed on the curvature tensor of non-compact gravitational instantons,
typically that the L2 -norm of the curvature 2-form is finite.
Gravitational instantons have been first considered by Hawking in an attempt
to construct a theory of quantum gravity analogous to Yang-Mills gauge theories
[46].4 In gauge theories self-dual solutions of the Yang-Mills equations, like BPST
instantons, are particularly important since they are absolute minima within their
topological type of the Yang-Mills action. The curvature 2-form of gravitational
instantons is self-dual5 , therefore they also are absolute minima of the Yang-Mills
action. However, this fact is not as important as in Yang-Mills theories, where the
field equations are derived from the Yang-Mills functional, since the field equations
obeyed by the curvature 2-form of an Einstein manifold are not derived from the
Yang-Mills functional, but rather from the Euclidean Hilbert-Einstein action
ż
˚R, (6.16)
M
with R the scalar curvature of M .

Using the theorem reported in section 6.1.2, the classification of compact grav-
itational instantons is quickly obtained: the only compact hyperkähler manifolds
are, up to a finite covering, diffeomorphic to the flat torus or a K3 surface.
In the non-compact, topologically finite case, all known gravitational instantons
fall into four categories characterised by the asymptotic behaviour of the metric:
ALE, ALF, ALG and ALH. It is conjectured that all gravitational instantons fall
into one of these families [19].
4
Note that the current definition of a gravitational instanton is slightly different from the
original one given by Hawking. As a consequence, manifolds like the Euclidean Schwarzschild
solution, which is not self-dual, are not considered gravitational instantons any more.
5
As discussed in section 6.1.1, gravitational instantons are self-dual manifolds according to
mathematicians’ use of the term: the Weyl tensor is self-dual. However, since they are also
Ricci-flat, the Riemann tensor reduces to the Weyl tensor.
In order to present the different families, we first need to give some details on
the topological and metric structure of gravitational instantons [33, 45]. Consider a
compact connected orientable 4-manifold M with connected boundary BM . Then
M “ M z BM admits a decomposition M “ C Y N where C is a compact subset
of M and N is diffeomorphic to the open annulus BM ˆ p0, 8q. Assume that BM
is the total space of a smooth fibration π : BM Ñ B with fibre F . Let x be a
boundary defining function, i.e. x “ 0, dx ‰ 0 on BM . Set r “ 1{x and consider
the behaviour of the metric tensor g in a neighbourhood U of BM . The metric of
ALF gravitational instantons is of fibred boundary type, that is
g “ dr2 ` r2 π ˚ h ` k (6.17)
in U , with h a metric tensor on B and k a symmetric tensor on BM which restricts

to a metric tensor on each fibre F . In order for the curvature decay condition
to be satisfied, k must be a flat metric on F so that F is a connected compact
orientable flat manifold.
A simple example is given by the gravitational instanton A0 of the ALF family.
As discussed in section 6.3.1, ALF A0 has the topology of R4 , which can be decom-
posed as R4 “ t0u Y pS 3 ˆ p0, 8qq. The manifold S 3 is the total space of the Hopf
fibration, discussed in 7.1.2, which has base S 2 and fibre S 1 . Therefore, in the
notation used above, M is a 4-ball, BM “ S 3 , M “ R4 , C “ t0u, N “ S 3 ˆ p0, 8q,
B “ S 2, F “ S 1.
The classification of non-compact gravitational instantons is based on the di-
mension of F :
• M is ALE (asymptotically locally Euclidean) if dimpF q “ 0.
• M is ALF (asymptotically locally flat) if dimpF q “ 1. Then F is diffeomor-

phic to S 1 .
• M is ALG (by induction) if dimpF q “ 2. Then F is diffeomorphic to the

2-torus.
• M is ALH (again by induction) if dimpF q “ 3. Then F is diffeomorphic to

one of the 6 flat orientable 3-manifolds.
A characterisation in terms of volume growth can also be given [20, 61]. The
volume growth of a geodesic ball of radius r is proportional to
• r4 for ALE manifolds,
• r3 for ALF manifolds,
• ra , 2 ď a ă 3 for ALG manifolds,
• ra , a ă 2 for ALH manifolds.
Only ALF gravitational instantons have the asymptotic properties required to

model a particle. We consider them in more detail in section 6.3.1.
In the following we will often make use of the Hausel-Hunsicker-Mazzeo com-
pactification XM of a gravitational instanton M which is obtained by collapsing
the fibres of M at infinity [45]. Equivalently, XM “ M Y S where S is a 2-surface
diffeomorphic to the base of the asymptotic fibration of M . It is natural to think
of S as representing the spatial infinity of M .
In general XM is a stratified space, but if fibres are topologically 2-spheres, as
happens for ALF gravitational instantons, then XM is a manifold [45].
To continue with the example of ALF A0 , which is homeomorphic to C2 , in
agreement with the relation CP 2 “ C2 YCP 1 we have XA0 “ CP 2 , S “ CP 1 „ S 2 .
6.3.1 ALF Gravitational Instantons

All known ALF gravitational instantons fall into two infinite subfamilies, indexed
by a non-negative integer k: of type Ak and of type Dk . It is conjectured that
these two families exhaust the ALF class of gravitational instantons [19].
Topology
The Ak´1 , k ě 1 and Dk , k ě 3, manifolds arise as the minimal resolution of

Kleinian singularities of cyclic and dihedral type, i.e. as a particular desingulari-
sation of the quotient of C2 by the action of a finite subgroup Γ of SU(2).
The finite subgroups of SU p2q are the cyclic group Zk of order k, the binary
dihedral group Dk˚ of order 4k, the binary tetrahedral group of order 24, the
binary octahedral group of order 48 and the binary icosahedral group of order
120. It is interesting to note that while there are ALE gravitational instantons
corresponding to all the possible finite subgroups of SU p2q [56], there are ALF
gravitational instantons corresponding only to the cyclic (type Ak´1 ) and binary
dihedral (type Dk ) subgroups.
ALE and ALF gravitational instantons of the same class have the same topol-
ogy, but differ at the metric level. Topologically, they retract onto a configuration
of 2-spheres intersecting according to the Cartan matrix of the corresponding Lie
algebra. Outside a compact set containing these 2-spheres they are homeomorphic
to C2 {Γ where Γ “ Zk for Ak´1 , k ě 1 and Γ “ Dk´2 ˚
for Dk , k ě 3.6 This gives
large r hypersurfaces the structure of a circle bundle. The bundle structure will be
important for the calculation of the electric charge and will be examined in more
detail in chapter 7.
Small values of k need a separate description: A0 , also known as the Taub-
NUT manifold, has the topology of C2 ; D0 retracts onto RP 2 and is not simply
connected; D1 retracts onto S 2 ; D2 is the minimal resolution of singularities of
pR3 ˆ S 1 q{Z2 . Outside a compact set, the asymptotic topologies of D0 (D1 ) and
D4 (D3 ) are the same, but the orientation is opposite [13].
Topological Invariants
Let us compute the Euler number χ and the signature τ of ALF gravitational
instantons. A definition of these quantities is given in appendix B.1.
The Euler number χpM q of a manifold M can be calculated as the alternating
sum of the Betti numbers bi pM q “ dim pH i pMk qq of M . The de Rham cohomology
groups of an ALF gravitational instanton are
$
’
’
’R if p “ 0,
&
H p pMk q “ Rk if p “ 2, (6.18)
’
’
’
%0 otherwise,
6
Not that D1˚ „ Z4 . However the Z4 -actions on the A3 and D3 manifolds are different.
where Mk is either Ak , k ě 0, or Dk , k ě 1. Hence
4
ÿ
χpMk q “ bi pMk q “ k ` 1. (6.19)
i“1
We can double check the value of χpAk q using the generalised Gauss-Bonnet
theorem (B.3). Since the integral of the curvature form over Ak , calculated in
appendix B.4, is ż
||R||2 η “ 8π 2 pk ` 1q , (6.20)
Ak
and there are no boundary contributions, we verify that χpAk q “ k ` 1. It is

interesting to note that, since χpDk q “ χpAk q, the integral of ||R||2 η over Dk is
also given by 8π 2 pk ` 1q.
The signature τ pM q of a manifold is
` ˘ ` ˘
τ pM q “ dim H 2` pM q ´ dim H 2´ pM q , (6.21)
where H 2` pM q (H 2´ pM q) is the subspace of H 2 pM q consisting of self-dual (anti

self-dual) forms, see appendix B.1 for more details. The sign of τ pM q depends on
the orientation chosen on M . Our choices of orientation for Ak and Dk are given
in (6.47) and (6.48).
Signature can be also calculated as the integral of a polynomial in the curvature
2-form. For a manifold M with self-dual curvature 2-form, Hirzebruch’s signature
theorem (B.10) gives
ż
1
τ pM q “ ||R||2 η ` b. d., (6.22)
12π 2 M
where b. d. stands for the contribution from the boundary at infinity. For both
Ak and Dk gravitational instantons the boundary contribution is pk ´ 2q{3, see
(B.14), therefore
τ pMk q “ pk ´ 2q{3 ` 2pk ` 1q{3 “ k, (6.23)
where Mk is either Ak or Dk .
As noted in [36], according to the original proposal [6] τ pM q gives the baryon
number of the particle modelled by M . For both Ak and Dk , τ “ k. The fact
that, for k ą 0, the signature of Ak does not agree with the baryon number of a
system of k ` 1 electrons suggested dropping the identification of signature with
baryon number.
Hausel-Hunsicker-Mazzeo Compactification
The topology of the Hausel-Hunsicker-Mazzeo compactification of ALF Ak´1 grav-

itational instantons has been calculated in [33]. The result is given by the following
theorem.
Let pM, gq be an ALF gravitational instanton such that one of its Kähler forms
ω “ dβ is exact and its Hausel-Hunsicker-Mazzeo compactification XM is simply
connected. Take on XM the orientation induced by any of the complex struc-
tures on pM, gq. Let k “ dim pL2 H2 pM qq, where L2 H2 pM q is the space of square-
integrable harmonic 2-forms on M , then there is a homeomorphism of oriented
topological manifolds
#
S4 if k “ 0,
XM „ (6.24)
#k CP2 otherwise,
where #k CP2 is the connected sum of k complex projective planes taken with the
orientation opposite to the one induced by the standard complex structure. The
case XM “ S 4 is realised by the flat space R3 ˆ S 1 while the compactification of
Ak´1 is #k CP2 [33].
The compactification of the Atiyah-Hitchin manifold, and therefore of D1 ,
which differs from the Atiyah-Hitchin manifold only at the metric level, is CP 2 ,
the compactification being achieved by gluing an RP 2 at infinity [6]. The compact-
ification of Dk is likely to be the connected sum of k complex projective planes,
but this has not been proved yet.
The Gibbons-Hawking Ansatz
Coming to the metric structure of ALF gravitational instantons, both the exact
Ak´1 and the asymptotic Dk metrics can be expressed in the form known as the
Gibbons-Hawking ansatz [37],
ds2 “ V pdr2 ` r2 dΩ2 q ` V ´1 pdψ ` αq2 , (6.25)
where dΩ2 “ dθ2 ` sin2 θ dφ2 , r P r0, 8q, θ P r0, πs, φ P r0, 2πq are spherical
coordinates and ψ is an angle whose range depends on the precise form of V . Note
that the metric dr2 ` r2 dΩ2 is the flat metric on R3 . The 1-form α is locally such
that dα “ ˚3 dV , with ˚3 the Hodge dual with respect to this flat metric. More
explicitly
Bx V “ By αz ´ Bz αy ,
By V “ Bz αx ´ Bx αz , (6.26)
Bz V “ Bx αy ´ By αx .
It follows that V is a harmonic function.

The Gibbons-Hawking ansatz gives a self-dual metric. This is a consequence
of the following result. Let pM, gq be a Riemannian manifold, tei u an orthonormal
frame, tei u the orthonormal coframe and define the self-dual 2-forms
β 1 “ e4 ^ e1 ´ e2 ^ e3 , β 2 “ e1 ^ e3 ´ e2 ^ e4 , β 3 “ e4 ^ e3 ´ e1 ^ e2 . (6.27)
If dβ i “ 0 for i “ 1, 2, 3, then (M , g), with
g “ e1 b e1 ` e2 b e2 ` e3 b e3 ` e4 b e4 , (6.28)
is a hyperkähler manifold, hence self-dual with respect to the orientation opposite

to the one induced by the complex structure [32]. Note that the 2-forms tβ i u form
a basis for the space of self-dual 2-forms.
An orthonormal basis of the cotangent space with respect to the metric (6.25)
is given by
? ? ? 1
e1 “ V dx, e2 “ V dy, e3 “ V dz, e4 “ ? pdψ ` αq . (6.29)
V
Since, for example,

´ ¯
1
dβ “ dα ^ dx ´ dV ^ dy ^ dz “ pBy αz ´ Bz αy q ´ Bx V dy ^ dz ^ dx
´ ¯ (6.30)
“ pdα ´ ˚3 dV qyz dy ^ dz ^ dx “ 0,
it follows that the closure condition for the 2-forms β i is equivalent to the relation
dα “ ˚3 dV. (6.31)
p1 p2
1
Ak
1
Ak
p1 p2 p3
p
1
R3 Ak
p3
Figure 6.1: The structure of an Ak ALF gravitational instanton illustrated for
k “ 3. The manifold Ak can be viewed as the union of a circle bundle over R3 ztpi u
and k ` 1 points tpi u. The inverse image by πAk of several subsets of R3 is shown
in the figure in cyan colour. The inverse image of the NUTs p1 , p2 , p3 is a single
point, while the inverse image of an ordinary point p is a circle. The inverse image
of a line connecting two NUTs, the dashed line between p1 and p2 in the figure,
is a cylinder with the circles at both ends collapsed to a point, topologically a
2-sphere.
Ak´1 metric
The metric of the Ak´1 family, whose members are also known as multi Taub-NUT
gravitational instantons [37], is
ds2 “ V dr2 ` r2 dΩ2 ` V ´1 pdψ ` αq2

` ˘
(6.32)
with
k
ÿ µ
V “1` , (6.33)
i“1
||p ´ pi ||
where µ ą 0 is a constant. The point p has spherical coordinates pr, θ, φq and tpi u
are the positions of k distinct points in R3 , the NUTs. If px, y, zq are the Cartesian
coordinates of the point p and pxi , yi , zi q are the Cartesian coordinates of pi , then
a
||p ´ pi || “ px ´ xi q2 ` py ´ yi q2 ` pz ´ zi q2 .
In order for (6.32) to be free from conical singularities, ψ needs to have the
range ψ P r0, 4πµq. In fact the metric near a NUT is approximately that of single
Taub-NUT,
´ µ¯ ` 2 ˘ ´ µ ¯´1
ds2 „ 1 ` dr ` r2 dΩ2 ` 1 ` pdψ ` µ cos θ dφq2 , (6.34)
r r
with r the distance from the NUT. Substituting r “ ρ2 {p4µq one obtains
ρ2 ` 2
dΩ ` pdpψ{µq ` cos θ dφq2 ,
˘
ds2 „ dρ2 ` (6.35)
4
which, provided that ψ{µ P r0, 4πq, is the flat metric on R4 expressed in terms of
the radial variable r and the Euler angles ψ{µ, θ, φ on SU p2q.
Geometrically a NUT is a fixed point of the action of the Killing vector B{Bψ
on the manifold [38]. Excluding the NUTs Ak is a circle bundle over R3 , with a
projection πAk mapping each circle to its base-point in R3 . We can extend πAk to
a map, which we will denote by the same symbol, defined on the whole of Ak by
letting it act trivially on the NUTs. A schematic picture of Ak and of the action
of πk is given in fig. 6.1.
Note that an ALF Ak gravitational instanton has k ` 1 NUTs. Since it is
notationally more convenient to deal with k NUTs we frequently work with Ak´1
instead of Ak .
The metric of the Dk family is, with the exception of D0 and D1 , known only
implicitly [21]; the D2 metric is presented as an approximation to the K3 metric in
[47]. However, for large r the following asymptotic approximation is known [18]:
ds2 “ V dr2 ` r2 dΩ2 ` V ´1 pdψ ` αq2 ,

` ˘
(6.36)
with
k ˆ ˙
2µ ÿµ 1 1
V “1´ ` ` . (6.37)
||p|| i“1 2 ||p ´ pi || ||p ` pi ||
In (6.37) t˘pi u are 2k distinct points in R3 , dα “ ˚3 dV , θ P r0, πs, φ P r0, 2πq,

ψ P r0, 2πµq, and there is the additional Z2 identification
pθ, φ, ψq „ pπ ´ θ, φ ` π, ´ψq. (6.38)
Note that (6.37) is given by the superposition of a NUT of negative weight located
at the origin and 2k NUTs at t˘pi u, and is symmetric under inversion in the origin.
Close to each NUT pi the metric (6.36) is well approximated by the A0 metric.
For r Ñ 8 the positions of the NUTs become irrelevant and the metric has
the leading asymptotic form (6.36) with V given by
pk ´ 2qµ
V “1` , (6.39)
r
where r “ ||p||.
If all the NUTs are very distant from the origin then (6.37), at large distances
from both the origin and the NUTs, i.e. for 0 ! r ! ||pi ||, reduces to
2µ
V „1´ (6.40)
r
The metric (6.36) with V given (6.40) is the asymptotic form of the D0 metric.
Therefore, if all the NUTs are far from the origin, Dk resembles a central D0
surrounded by 2k A0 -like NUTs.
From the moduli space description of Dk [22, 23] follows that it is possible to
set pk “ 0 without making the manifold singular or altering its topology. Doing
so, equation (6.37) becomes
k´1
ÿ µˆ ˙
µ 1 1
V “1´ ` ` . (6.41)
||p|| i“1 2 ||p ´ pi || ||p ` pi ||
If the other 2pk ´ 1q NUTs are far from the origin, then (6.41), at large distances
from both the origin and the NUTs, i.e. for 0 ! r ! ||pi ||, i ‰ k, reduces to
µ
V „1´ . (6.42)
r
The metric (6.36) with V given by equation (6.42) is the asymptotic form of
the Atiyah-Hitchin metric, the maximally symmetric member of the D1 family.7
Therefore, if a pair of NUTs sits at the origin and all the other are far from it, Dk
resembles a central Atiyah-Hitchin manifold surrounded by 2pk ´ 1q A0 -like NUTs.
The parameter µ has the physical dimensions of a length and is related to the
length of the circles in the asymptotic fibration which is 4π µ for Ak´1 and 2π µ
for Dk . It is natural to choose the value of µ so that the asymptotic length of the
circles is 2π, that is $
& 1 for A ,
k´1
µ“ 2 (6.43)
%1 for D .
k
We anticipate here that with the choice (6.43) of µ asymptotically
pdψ ` αqAk´1 “ ωk , (6.44)

pdψ ` αqDk “ ω2pk´2q , (6.45)
see equations (7.48), (7.55). In (6.44) pdψ ` αqAk´1 is the 1-form comparing in
the Ak´1 metric (6.32); in (6.45) pdψ ` αqDk is the (different) 1-form comparing
in the asymptotic Dk metric (6.36). In both cases ωl is given by the 1-form (7.41)
discussed in chapter 7.
7
The D1 family, whose asymptotic metric is parametrised by p1 , has been studied by Dancer
[27]. Members of the D1 family generally have only a U p1q group of isometries. The Atiyah-
Hitchin manifold is obtained for p1 “ 0 and has instead an SOp3q group of isometries.
Orientation
A Kähler 4-manifold with Kähler form β has a canonical orientation, β^β, induced
by its complex structure. A hyperkähler manifold has three Kähler forms β1 , β2 ,
β3 , but they all induce the same orientation. For Ak , these forms are given by
(6.27), and the induced orientation is, in (r, ψ, θ, φ) coordinates,
β 1 ^ β 1 “ β 2 ^ β 2 “ β 3 ^ β 3 “ 2 V r3 sin2 θ dr ^ dθ ^ dφ ^ dψ. (6.46)
We want to take the orientation opposite to the one induced by the complex
structure. For Ak it is
orAk “ dψ ^ dr ^ dθ ^ dφ. (6.47)
For Dk it is
orDk “ dr ^ dψ ^ dθ ^ dφ. (6.48)
Chapter 7
Asymptotic Topology and Charge
According to [6], there are two different definitions of the electric charge of a
particle modelled by a non-compact manifold M . The first one is minus the self-
intersection number of the surface representing infinity in the Hausel-Hunsicker-
Mazzeo compactification XM of M . More precisely, if S is the base of the asymp-
totic fibration, and therefore XM zS “ M , then charge is given by minus the self-
intersection number of S in XM . The second definition is minus the first Chern
number of the asymptotic circle fibration of M .
The two definitions are equivalent provided that the asymptotic fibration is
oriented, i.e. provided that the structure group is U p1q „ SOp2q. This is the
case for the Ak´1 family. However, if the asymptotic fibration is not oriented, as
happens for the Dk family, then it is not possible to define its first Chern number
C1 . However, it is possible to construct a double cover Dk of Dk which has an
oriented asymptotic fibration. Charge can be then computed as minus one half of
the first Chern number of the double cover asymptotic fibration.
While the charge definition in terms of the self-intersection number is more
satisfactory as it applies to both families without the need of any additional con-
struction, the definition in terms of C1 is closer to physics as it can be viewed as a
generalisation of Gauss’ flux theorem. For this reason, I have chosen to compute
the electric charge of Ak´1 and Dk by calculating the first Chern number of the
relevant fibration, as I originally did in [36].
Section 7.1 contains a detailed explanation of the charge definition in terms
of C1 . Section 7.2 illustrates the charge computation for Ak´1 and Dk . The
equivalence between the two charge definitions in the case of Ak´1 gravitational
instantons is discussed in appendix B.2. Some background material on principal
bundles and characteristic classes has been summarised in appendix B.3.
115
Chapter 7. Asymptotic Topology and Charge 116
7.1 Definition
7.1.1 Motivation
The dynamical Maxwell equations for an electric field E, in 3-dimensional vector
notation, are
∇ ¨ E “ 4πρe . (7.1)
The electric charge Qe contained in a volume V is then

ż ż ż
1 1
Qe “ ρe dV “ ∇ ¨ E dV “ E ¨ dσ, (7.2)
V 4π V 4π BV
where dV and dσ are the natural volume elements of V and BV , the latter taken
with the orientation induced by the external unit vector perpendicular to BV .
If the volume V is the whole of R3 , we can consider its “boundary” to be the
2
2-sphere at infinity S8 “ limRÑ8 SR2 . Therefore electric charge can be calculated
by integrating the flux of E at infinity,
ż
1
Qe “ E ¨ dσ. (7.3)
4π 2
S8
Since in [6] the rôles of electric and magnetic fields are reversed, electric charge
is given by the appropriate generalisation of a relation similar to (7.3) but involving
the magnetic field B. Let us then consider the behaviour of a particle having non-
zero magnetic charge. The magnetic field generated by a point particle of magnetic
strength g is
g
B “ 3 r. (7.4)
r
Because of the radial direction of B in (7.4) and the r´2 dependence of its modulus,
one can apply Gauss theorem and relate the magnetic charge contained in a volume
V with the flux of B obtaining an expression exactly analogous to (7.3).
However, a fundamental property of electric charge is its quantisation. We will
derive below the Dirac quantisation condition which states that, for a monopole
of strength g and an electrically charged particle of charge q, in units such that
the charge of the proton is one, the condition 2 qg P Z must hold. Therefore, if q
is integer, 2g, rather than g, is also an integer. For this reason, it is preferable to
define the magnetic charge of a monopole of strength g to be 2g, and the analogous
of (7.3) reads ż
1
Qm “ B ¨ dσ. (7.5)
2π S82
For future use, we would like to rewrite (7.5) in a more geometrical form. In
order to do this, it is convenient to make use of the exterior calculus formalism.
Let B “ B5 be the 1-form associated to the magnetic field B via the canonical iso-
morphism induced by the flat metric g p3q on R3 , F “ ˚3 B be the 2-form1 obtained
applying the Hodge operator induced by g p3q on B. If B a are the components of
B with respect to a coordinate basis tB{Bxa u, then
1
b
p3q
B“ B b gab a
dx , F “ detpg p3q q B c cab dxa ^ dxb , (7.6)
2
where abc is the Levi-Civita symbol in three dimensions.

For the magnetic field of a point particle (7.4), using spherical coordinates
r, θ, φ, we have
g
B “ 2 dr, F “ g sin θ dθ ^ dφ, (7.7)
r
therefore (7.5) can be rewritten simply as
ż
1
Qm “ F. (7.8)
2π 2
S8
The 2-form F is closed, i.e. dF “ 0, but not exact2 , i.e. it cannot be written
as the exterior derivative of a globally defined 1-form. In fact, suppose there were
a globally defined 1-form A such that F “ dA. Then, using Stokes’ theorem, we
would have ż ż
2π Qm “ lim dA “ lim A “ 0, (7.9)
RÑ8 S 2 RÑ8 BS 2
R R
in contradiction with the fact that the particle has magnetic charge 2g as one
readily obtains by directly calculating the integral (7.8).
1
The 2-form F is the usual electromagnetic field-strength 2-form of a stationary magnetic
field in a frame where the electric field vanishes.
2
Indeed F is 4πg times the canonical volume form ` of S 2 ,˘which is homotopically equivalent
to R zt0u, therefore it is a non-trivial element of H R zt0u .
3 2 3
However, it is possible to locally express F as the exterior derivative of a 1-

form. Since F does not depend on the radial variable r, it is convenient to work
on S 2 , and introduce the two gauge potentials
+
AN
“ ´g pcos θ ¯ 1q dφ, (7.10)
AS
with AN singular for θ “ π, AS singular for θ “ 0. The exterior derivative of both

AN and AS is F .
If we work with the local potentials AN and AS , Stokes’ theorem applied to
2
(7.8) yields the right result. Write SN for the upper hemisphere of S8 and SS for
2 1
the lower hemisphere, so that SN Y SS “ S8 , SN X SS “ S . Note that both SN
and SS have S 1 as their boundary, but with opposite orientations. Then
ż ż ż
1 1 1
Qm “ F “ dAN ` dAS
2π S82 2π SN 2π SS
ż ż ż
1 1 1
“ AN ` AS “ pAN ´ AS q (7.11)
2π BSN 2π BSS 2π S 1
ż
1
“ 2g dφ “ 2g.
2π S 1
We can now derive Dirac’s quantisation condition. Consider the wave func-
tions ψN and ψS , defined on SN and SS , of a particle with electric charge e. Since
AN “ AS ` 2g dφ, the wave functions ψN and ψS are related by the gauge trans-
formation ψN “ ψS expp2i eg φq. In order for ψN to be single-valued, working in
units such that e “ 1, we must have 2g “ l P Z.
The adequate generalisation of (7.8) to the more complicated topologies of ALF
gravitational instantons is given by minus the first Chern number of the asymptotic
fibration of these manifolds, to be discussed in the next section.
7.1.2 Formalisation
Some background material on connection on principal bundles has been discussed
in appendix B.3, for more details see [64], [65] or [66].
Manifolds modelling charged particles have asymptotic hypersurfaces with the
topology of a circle bundle P over a boundaryless 2-surface S. Provided that the

structure group of P is U p1q, the appropriate generalisation of (7.8) is Ć1 pP q,
where C1 pP q, the first Chern number of P , is given by3
ż
1
C1 pP q “ ´ F. (7.12)
2π S
In (7.12) F is the field strength associated to any connection on P .

According to [6], in the geometric models of matter framework the rôles of
electric and magnetic fields are reversed, so it is the electric charge Q to be given
by Ć1 pP q.
Let us see how the formalism works in the case of the Hopf bundle PH , a U p1q-
bundle over S 2 with total space S 3 . We will see in the next section that the Hopf
bundle models the asymptotic structure of A0 , the manifold describing an electron.
Consider S 3 as a submanifold of C2 , S 3 “ tpz 1 , z 2 q P C2 | |z 1 |2 ` |z 2 |2 “ 1u. The
Hopf projection π : S 3 Ă C2 Ñ S 2 is the restriction to S 3 of the surjective map4
` ` ˘ ` ˘ ˘
pz 1 , z 2 q ÞÑ 2Re z 1 z̄ 2 , 2Im z 1 z̄ 2 , |z 1 |2 ´ |z 2 |2 . (7.13)
Points with the same ratio z 1 {z 2 are mapped to the same point of S 2 . This gives
S 3 the structure of a U p1q-bundle over S 2 with projection π and right action
σ : S 3 ˆ U p1q Ñ S 3 given by complex number multiplication:
` ˘
σ pz 1 , z 2 q, exppiwq “ pz 1 exppiwq, z 2 exppiwqq. (7.14)
In order to calculate C1 pPH q using (7.12) we need to define a connection ω

on PH . As discussed in appendix B.3, for each u P PH the tangent space Vu PH
3
The definition (7.12) of the first Chern number is only valid for principal bundles with an
Abelian structure group. For such bundles the field strength F is a globally defined 2-form on
S. The general case is discussed in appendix B.3.
4
We recall that the Hopf projection π can be expressed in terms of the stereographic projection
from the north pole φN : S 2 Ă R3 Ñ R2 as πpz 1 , z 2 q “ φ´1 1 2
N pz {z q, with
x1 x2 |z|2 ´ 1
ˆ ˙ ˆ ˙
1 2 3 2z
φN px , x , x q “ , , ´1
φN pzq “ , P S 2 Ă C ˆ R „ R3 .
1 ´ x3 1 ´ x3 1 ` |z|2 |z|2 ` 1
to the fibre over u, known as the vertical space at u, can be defined without any
additional structure. However there is no canonical way of choosing a complement
Hu PH of Vu PH in Tu PH . A connection on PH is equivalent to a smooth choice
of such a complement for all u P PH . The vector space Hu PH is known as the
horizontal space at u.
Since different connections give the same first Chern number, we are free to
make a simple choice for ω. The embedding of S 3 in C2 „ R4 given by the inclusion
suggests a natural choice for Hu PH : the real orthogonal complement of Vu PH in
Tu PH with respect to the Euclidean metric on R4 . Let u “ pu1 , u2 q P S 3 . The
vertical space at u is
Vu PH “ tpu1 , u2 qi w | u1 , u2 P C, w P up1q „ Ru. (7.15)
If a, b P C, their real inner product is given by Re pā bq. Therefore a P Tu PH is

` ˘
in the real orthogonal complement of Vu PH provided that Re i u w a “ 0 for all
w P R, i.e. if and only if Impū1 a1 ` ū2 a2 q “ 0. Therefore the horizontal space at u
is
` ˘ˇ
Hu PH “ Ker Impz̄ 1 dz 1 ` z̄ 2 dz 2 q ˇu . (7.16)
The connection ω equivalent to the choice (7.16) of horizontal subspaces of

Tu PH has, for each u P PH , Hu PH as its kernel. It is therefore given by
` ˘
ω “ r Im z̄ 1 dz 1 ` z̄ 2 dz 2 , (7.17)
where r, a priori a real function of z 1 , z 2 , still needs to be determined.

In order to fix r, let us check the two properties which must be satisfied by
a connection form. As discussed in appendix B.3, the connection form ω on a
principal bundle P with structure group G and right action σ needs to satisfy
equations (B.33), (B.34) which for convenience we rewrite here5 :
σg˚ ω “ adg´1 ˝ ω, (7.18)

ωpw# q “ w, (7.19)
5
Since the Lie algebra of U p1q is simply R, in passing from (B.34) to (7.19) we have switched
to a lowercase notation for its elements (W Ñ w).
where g P G, w P g, w# is the fundamental vector field associated to w, σg˚ ω

denotes the pullback of ω by σg “ σp¨, gq and adg denotes conjugation by g.
In our case P “ PH , G “ U p1q and σ is given by (7.14). Since U p1q is Abelian,
(7.18) reduces to the condition σg˚ ω “ ω which is satisfied provided that r is
invariant under the U p1q-action, i.e. such that rpz 1 exppiwq, z 2 exppiwqq “ rpz 1 , z 2 q.
Equation (7.19) requires ω to act as the identity on the fundamental vector
field generated by an element w of g and therefore fixes the normalisation of ω.
Let t ÞÑ exppiwtq, with w P up1q „ R, be a curve on U p1q. The value of w# at u is
ˇ ˇ
d ˇˇ ` ˘ d ˇˇ 1 2 itw
w puq “ ˇ σ u, exppiwtq “ ˇ pu , u qe “ i pu1 , u2 qw,
#
(7.20)
dt t“0 dt t“0
where u “ pu1 , u2 q P S 3 , therefore
#
´`
1 1 2
˘ˇ ` 1 2 ˘ ¯
2 ˇ
ωu pw puqq “ r Im z̄ dz ` z̄ dz ˇ ipu , u qw
u (7.21)
` 1 1 ˘ ` ˘
“ r Re ū u w ` ū u w “ r |u1 |2 ` |u2 |2 w “ r w.
2 2
It follows r “ 1.
The connection on PH that we have found is therefore the 1-form
` ˘
ω “ Im z̄ 1 dz 1 ` z̄ 2 dz 2 , (7.22)
We now want to rewrite ω in a form which makes clear its relation with
the gauge potentials AN and AS given in (7.10). Introduce local coordinates
ψ P r0, 2πq, θ P r0, πs, φ P r0, 2πq on π ´1 pS 2 ztpN , pS uq, where pS “ p0, 0, ´1q
is the south pole of S 2 and pN “ p0, 0, 1q the north pole, via6

ˆ ˙ ˆ ˆ ˙˙
1 θ φ
z “ cos exp i ψ ` ,
2 2
ˆ ˙ ˆ ˆ ˙˙ (7.23)
2 θ φ
z “ sin exp i ψ ´ .
2 2
In these coordinates the Hopf map is
pψ, θ, φq ÞÑ psin θ cos φ, sin θ sin φ, cos θq, (7.24)
and ω is given by
1 ` ˘
ω “ dψ ` cos θ dφ on π ´1 S 2 ztpN , pS u . (7.25)
2
Expression (7.25) is not defined for θ “ 0, π. In order to get a globally defined

expression for ω we need to use two different coordinate patches, UN “ S 2 ztpS u,
US “ S 2 ztpN u. Defining the angles
φ φ
ψN “ ψ ` P r0, 2πq, ψS “ ψ ´ P r0, 2πq, (7.26)
2 2
we have $
&dψ ` 1 pcos θ ´ 1qdφ on π ´1 pU q,
N 2 N
ω“ (7.27)
%dψ ` 1 pcos θ ` 1qdφ on π ´1 pU q.
S 2 S
Pulling back ω to UN , US via appropriately chosen cross-sections of PH we can

recover the gauge potentials (7.10).
The standard local trivialisations ΨN,S : π ´1 pUN,S q Ñ UN,S ˆ S 1 of the Hopf
6
Usually the parametrisation (7.23) of S 3 in terms of Euler angles is given by
ˆ ˙ ˆ ´ ¯˙
θ i
z 1 “ cos exp ψ̃ ` φ ,
2 2
ˆ ˙ ˆ ´ ¯˙
θ i
z 2 “ sin exp ψ̃ ´ φ .
2 2
with ψ̃ P r0, 4πq. Since it is convenient for us to fix the length of the asymptotic fibres of Ak´1
and Dk to be 2π, we prefer to work with an angle ψ in the range r0, 2πq.
bundle are
ˆ˙
1 2 1 2 1 2 z1 1 2
ΨN ppz , z qq “ pπppz , z qq, ψN ppz , z qqq “ πppz , z qq, 1 ,
|z |
ˆ ˙ (7.28)
1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 z2
ΨS ppz , z qq “ pπppz , z qq, ψS ppz , z qqq “ πppz , z qq, 2 ,
|z |
with inverses
ˆ ˙
` 1 2
˘ ` 1 2
˘ |z 1 | 1 2 |z
1
|
Ψ´1
N rz , z s, g “ z , z
g “ |z |, z 1 g,
z1 z
2
ˆ 2
˙ (7.29)
1 2 |z | 1 |z |
´1
` 1 2
˘ ` ˘ 2
ΨS rz , z s, g “ z , z g “ z 2 , |z | g,
z2 z
where rz 1 , z 2 s denotes a point in CP 1 „ S 2 and g P S 1 .

The associated local cross-sections, see appendix B.3, sN,S : UN,S Ñ π ´1 pUN,S q
are
ˆ 1
˙
1 2 ´1 1 2 1 2 |z |
sN prz , z sq “ ΨN prz , z s, 1q “ |z |, z 1 ,
z
ˆ 2
˙ (7.30)
1 2 ´1 1 2 1 |z | 2
sS prz , z sq “ ΨS prz , z s, 1q “ z 2 , |z | .
z
In terms of the angular coordinates (θ, φ)

ˆ ˙ ˆ ˆ ˙ ˙
θ θ íφ
sN pθ, φq “ cos , sin e ,
2 2
ˆ ˆ ˙ ˆ ˙˙ (7.31)
θ iφ θ
sS pθ, φq “ cos e , sin .
2 2
Pulling back ω via sN,S one gets the local gauge potentials
+
pA1 qN “ s˚N ω 1
“ pcos θ ¯ 1q dφ. (7.32)
pA1 qS “ s˚S ω 2
with pA1 qN singular for θ “ π, pA1 qS singular for θ “ 0. Comparing (7.32) with
(7.10) we see that the gauge potentials (7.32) are equal to those of a magnetic
monopole of charge one (g “ 1{2).
The curvature form Ω associated to the connection form ω is the 2-form
1
Ω “ dω “ ´ sin θ dθ ^ dφ.7 (7.33)
2
Pulling back F via sN,S one obtains the field strengths FS “ s˚S Ω, FN “ s˚N Ω.
Since FN “ FS on US X UN , we can define a 2-form F , globally defined on S 2 , as
$
&s˚ Ω on U 1
S S
F “ “ ´ sin θ dθ ^ dφ. (7.34)
%s˚ Ω on U
N
2
N
Let us finally compute the first Chern number of the Hopf bundle:
ż ż
1 1
C1 pPH q “ ´ F “ sin θ dθ dφ “ 1. (7.35)
2π S2 4π S2
7
Note that Ω, a priori a 2-form on S 3 , is actually a 2-form globally defined on S 2 . More
formally we should say that Ω “ π ˚ F , where F is a 2-form on S 2 and π is the Hopf bundle
projection. This is not a coincidence: as discussed in appendix B.3, the curvature form of a
principal G-bundle P over B can be identified with an (ad P )-valued 2-form FΩ globally defined
on B. If G is Abelian, then FΩ univocally determines a g-valued 2-form F globally defined on
B.
7.2 Ak´1 and Dk Charge and Particle Interpre-

tation
Let us start computing the electric charge of Ak´1 . We first need to understand
the topology of large r hypersurfaces. If k “ 1, the topology is that of C2 . A large
r hypersurface has the topology of S 3 “ tpz 1 , z 2 q P C2 | |z 1 |2 ` |z 2 |2 “ 1u which
is a circle bundle over S 2 , the Hopf bundle PH described in section 7.1.2. As we
calculated in (7.35), C1 pPH q “ 1, therefore QA0 “ ´1.
If k ą 1, outside a compact set the topology is that of C2 {Zk , where the action
of Zk is generated by ˆ ˙
1 2 2π
pz , z q ÞÑ exp i pz 1 , z 2 q. (7.36)
k
Extend the coordinates (7.23) ψ P r0, 2πq, θ P r0, πs, φ P r0, 2πq to the whole of C2
introducing an additional radial variable r P r0, 8q,
ˆ ˙ ˆ ˆ ˙˙
1 θ φ
z “ r cos exp i ψ ` ,
2 2
ˆ ˙ ˆ ˆ ˙˙ (7.37)
2 θ φ
z “ r sin exp i ψ ´ .
2 2
Since the Zk -action generated by (7.36) leaves r invariant, we can focus on what
happens to a fixed, large r hypersurface. The ratio z 1 {z 2 is also left invariant by
the Zk -action, hence the Hopf fibration π descends to a map, which we will still
denote with π : S 3 {Zk Ñ S 2 , and the base of the asymptotic fibration is still S 2 .
Because of the identification (7.36), ψ „ ψ ` 2π{k, hence ψ is periodic with period
2π{k. Therefore, the fibre is again a circle, but with length 2π{k. In conclusion, for
all k ě 1, the topology of a large r hypersurface in Ak´1 is that of a U p1q-bundle
over S 2 .
In order to calculate C1 , it is convenient to consider the following 1-form, which
appears in the asymptotic metrics of both Ak´1 and Dk and generalises (7.22),
` ˘
ωl “ l Im z̄ 1 dz 1 ` z̄ 2 dz 2 . (7.38)
The 1-form ωl is a connection form defined on a U p1q-bundle having, as we will

compute below, first Chern number l. In terms of the coordinates (7.23) ψ P

r0, 2πq, θ P r0, πs, φ P r0, 2πq, ωl is given by
l ` ˘
ωl “ dψ ` cos θ dφ on π ´1 S 2 ztpN , pS u . (7.39)
2
The 1-form (7.39) is not well defined if θ “ 0, π. In order to obtain a 1-form

globally defined on S 2 consider the two open sets UN “ S 2 ztpS u, US “ S 2 ztpN u
and introduce the angles
l l
ψN “ ψ ` φ, ψS “ ψ ´ φ, (7.40)
2 2
with ψN , ψS P r0, 2πq. Then

$
&dψ ` pA q
N l N on π ´1 pUN q,
ωl “ (7.41)
%dψ ` pA q
S l S on π ´1 pUS q.
The gauge potentials pAl qN , pAl qS are

+
pAl qN l
“ pcos θ ¯ 1q dφ, (7.42)
pAl qS 2
with pAl qN singular for θ “ π, pAl qS singular for θ “ 0. The connection form ωl is
instead globally defined on the total space of the fibration. For l “ 0, ω0 is a flat
connection on the trivial bundle S 2 ˆ U p1q. For l “ 1 we recover the Hopf bundle
connection (7.27).
The field strength associated to ωl is the 2-form
l
Fl “ d pAl qS “ d pAl qN “ ´ sin θ dθ ^ dφ, (7.43)
2
globally defined on S 2 .
The first Chern number of a U p1q-fibration over S 2 with connection form ωl is
l, in fact ż ż
1 l
C1 “ ´ Fl “ sin θ dθ ^ dφ “ l. (7.44)
2π S 2 4π S 2
For ALF Ak´1 and Dk gravitational instantons we can identify l by rewriting

the asymptotic form of the metric in a way that explicitly shows ωl . For Ak´1 ,
with µ chosen as in (6.43), asymptotically (6.33) becomes V „ 1`k{p2rq, therefore
locally α „ pk{2q cos θ dφ. Hence, rescaling
k k
ψN “ ψ ` φ, ψS “ ψ ´ φ, (7.45)
2 2
ψN , ψS P r0, 2πq, the metric (6.32) asymptotically can be written

$ ´ ¯2
&V pdr2 ` r2 dΩ2 q ` V ´1 dψN ` k pcos θ ´ 1qdφ for θ, φ P UN
2
ds2 „
%V pdr2 ` r2 dΩ2 q ` V ´1 dψ ` k pcos θ ` 1qdφ 2
´ ¯
S 2
for θ, φ P US (7.46)
“ V pdr2 ` r2 dΩ2 q ` V ´1 pωk q2 .
Hence l “ k and the charge QAk´1 of Ak´1 is
QAk´1 “ ´k. (7.47)
Note that, comparing (7.46) with (6.32), we can see that asymptotically8
dψ ` α „ ωk . (7.48)
Consider now Dk . For k ě 3, outside a compact set the topology is that of the
quotient C2 {Dk´2
˚
, where Dk˚ is the binary dihedral group of order 4k. The group
8
For reference we give the values of various expressions for generic µ. The angle ψ appearing
in the metric (6.32) has the range r0, 4πµq. Asymptotically
kµ
V „1` , α „ kµ cos θ dφ, dψ ` α „ 2µ ωk ,
r
2
ds2 „ V pdr2 ` r2 dΩ2 q ` 4µ2 V ´1 pωk q ,
with ωk still given by (7.41). The rescaling (7.45) becomes
ψ k ψ k
ψN “ ` φ, ψS “ ´ φ.
2µ 2 2µ 2
Of course the value of the first Chern number of Ak´1 does not depend on the choice of µ.
˚
Dk´2 , k ě 3, has two generators, g1 and g2 , whose action on C2 is given by
g1 ¨ pz 1 , z 2 q “ ei2π{p2pk´2qq pz 1 , z 2 q “ eiπ{pk´2q pz 1 , z 2 q, (7.49)

g2 ¨ pz 1 , z 2 q “ ipz̄ 2 , ´z̄ 1 q. (7.50)
The generator g1 generates the cyclic subgroup Z2pk´2q . The generators satisfy the
relations pg1 q2pk´2q “ e “ pg2 q4 , pg1 qk´2 “ pg2 q2 , pg2 qpg1 qpg2 q´1 “ pg1 q´1 . Note that
pg2 q2 ¨ pz 1 , z 2 q “ ´pz 1 , z 2 q.
The Dk´2 ˚
action leaves |z 1 |2 ` |z 2 |2 unchanged, therefore we can concentrate
on its action on a large sphere S 3 Ă C2 . The action of g1 leaves the ratio z 1 {z 2
unchanged, and gives the identification ψ „ ψ ` π{pk ´ 2q on the fibres. The
action (7.50) of g2 , expressed in the (ψ, θ, φ) coordinates (7.23), results in the
identification
pψ, θ, φq „ p´ψ, π ´ θ, π ` φq, (7.51)
so that the range of ψ is halved and opposite points on the base S 2 are identified.
The base of the asymptotic fibration is therefore RP 2 . The fibre is S 1 and the
length of the fibre is π{pk ´ 2q.
As remarked in section 6.3, for k “ 0 (k “ 1) the asymptotic topology is the
same as for k “ 4 (k “ 3) but the orientation is opposite, and for k “ 2 the
asymptotic topology is that of pR3 ˆ S 1 q{Z2 . Therefore in all cases we have the
identification (7.51) and the topology of a large r hypersurface is that of a fibre
bundle over RP 2 with fibre S 1 .
Since the structure group of the fibration is Op2q, it is not possible to define
its first Chern number. Charge, however, can still be computed by considering a
double cover Dk of Dk where the identification (7.51) is lifted, so that the base of
the fibration becomes S 2 and the structure group U p1q. Then QDk is minus half
the first Chern number of the asymptotic fibration in Dk . Using (6.39), with µ
chosen as in (6.43), one has α „ pk ´ 2q cos θ dφ. Rescaling
ψN “ ψ ` pk ´ 2qφ, ψS “ ψ ´ pk ´ 2qφ, (7.52)
ψN , ψS P r0, 2πq, we find that the leading asymptotic form of the metric (6.36) can
be written
` ˘2
ds2 „ V pdr2 ` r2 dΩ2 q ` V ´1 ω2pk´2q , (7.53)
with V given by (6.39). Therefore l “ 2pk ´ 2q. Dividing by 2 to pass from Dk to

Dk , we get the charge
1
QDk “ ´ ¨ 2pk ´ 2q “ 2 ´ k. (7.54)
2
Note that, comparing (7.53) with (6.36), we can see that asymptotically9
dψ ` α „ ω2pk´2q . (7.55)
The asymptotic topology of Ak´1 and Dk is that of U p1q-bundles over S 2 . Such

bundles are classified by their Chern number l P Z. For l “ 1 we have the Hopf
bundle PH . It has total space S 3 and a connection form is given by (7.22). For
l ą 1 the total space is the lens space Lpl, 1q “ S 3 {Zl , the Zl action being generated
by (7.36), and a connection form is given by (7.38). Let us see how the structure
of these bundles differs, for l ą 1, from that of the Hopf bundle.
A local trivialisation of S 3 {Zl needs to be invariant under the Zl identification
pz 1 , z 2 q „ exp pi 2π{lq pz 1 , z 2 q. Therefore, the local trivialisations (7.28) of the Hopf
bundle need to be modified to
˜ ˆ 1 ˙l ¸
z
ΨN ppz 1 , z 2 qq “ pπppz 1 , z 2 qq, ψN ppz 1 , z 2 qqq “ πppz 1 , z 2 qq, ,
|z 1 |
˜ ˆ 2 ˙l ¸ (7.56)
z
ΨS ppz 1 , z 2 qq “ pπppz 1 , z 2 qq, ψS ppz 1 , z 2 qqq “ πppz 1 , z 2 qq, ,
|z 2 |
9
For reference we give the values of various expressions for generic µ. The angle ψ appearing
in the metric (6.36) has the range r0, 2πµq. Asymptotically
µ
V „ 1 ` pk ´ 2q , α „ pk ´ 2qµ cos θ dφ, dψ ` α „ µ ω2pk´2q ,
r
˘2
ds2 „ V pdr2 ` r2 dΩ2 q ` µ2 V ´1 ω2pk´2q ,
`
with ωk still given by (7.41). The rescaling (7.45) becomes
ψ ψ
ψN “ ` pk ´ 2qφ, ψS “ ´ pk ´ 2qφ.
µ µ
Of course the value of the first Chern number of Dk does not depend on the choice of µ.
1
with inverses Ψ´1 ´1
N,S : UN,S ˆ S Ñ π pUN,S q
` 1 2 ˘ ` 1 2 ˘ |z 1 | 1{l
Ψ´1
N rz , z s, g “ z , z g ,
z1 (7.57)
` 1 2 ˘ ` 1 2 ˘ |z 2 | 1{l
Ψ´1
S rz , z s, g “ z , z g ,
z2
where rz 1 , z 2 s denotes a point in CP 1 „ S 2 and g P S 1 .

The associated local sections are still given by (7.30). Since any local trivial-
isation Ψ on a principal G-bundle P needs to satisfy the relation, see appendix
B.3,
Ψpσpu, gqq “ Ψpuqg, (7.58)
where σ : P ˆ G Ñ P is the right action of G on P , it follows that the U p1q-action

σ on S 3 {Zl is given by
` ˘ ` ˘
σ pz 1 , z 2 q, g “ g 1{l z 1 , g 1{l z 2 . (7.59)
The transition function gSN : UN X US Ñ G is
` ˘´1 z 2 |z 1 |
gSN prz 1 , z 2 sq “ ψS ppz 1 , z 2 qq ψN ppz 1 , z 2 qq “ 2 1 “ exp pí l φq , (7.60)
|z | z
where pz 1 , z 2 q is any point on π ´1 prz 1 , z 2 sq and in the last equality we have used
(7.23).
We can double check the normalisation of the connection form (7.38) following
the same procedure that we used for the Hopf bundle, see equation (7.21). Let t ÞÑ
exppiw tq, with w P up1q „ R, be a curve on U p1q. The value of the fundamental
vector field w# associated to w at a point u “ pu1 , u2 q P S 3 {Zl is
ˇ ˇ ˆ ˙
# d ˇˇ d ˇˇ i iw 1 2
w puq “ ˇ σ pu, exp piw tqq “ ˇ u exp w t “ pu , u q, (7.61)
dt t“0 dt t“0 l l
therefore
ˆ ˆ ˙˙
#
“` 1 1 2
˘ˇ 2 d 1 2 it
pωl qu pw q “ l Im z̄ dz ` z̄ dz u ˇ pu , u q exp w
dt l
„ ˆ ˙
` 1 1 2 2
˘ i u1 i u2 (7.62)
“ l Im ū dz ` ū dz w, w
l l
“ p|u1 |2 ` |u2 |2 q w “ w.
An alternative way to understand why the U p1q-action on a U p1q-bundle of

Chern number l must depend on l is to look at the orbit of a point u P S 3 {Zl
under the U p1q-action σ̃u : U p1q Ñ U p1q, where the U p1q on the right is the fibre
over πpuq, given by
` ˘
σ̃u peiα q “ u1 , u2 eiα . (7.63)
Note that σ̃u is the right action σ̃ : S 3 ˆ U p1q Ñ S 3 of the Hopf bundle with
the first argument held fixed. By definition of a principal bundle, σ̃u should be a
diffeomorphism. However, if the length of the fibres of the Hopf bundle is fixed to
be 2π, the length of the fibres in S 3 {Zl is 2π{l, and the map σ̃u is not injective,
but l-to-one. In order to make it injective, we need to take the l-th root of it,
obtaining the action σu peiα q “ pu1 , u2 q exp piα{lq, which is the action (7.59) with
the first argument held fixed.
Let us finally come to the particle interpretation of these manifolds. The charge
(7.47) of Ak´1 is k times that of an electron (A0 ) and suggests to consider Ak´1 as
a model for k electrons, an interpretation supported by the fact that the metric
(6.32), looks like A0 close to each NUT.
The charge (7.54) of Dk agrees both with that of a proton and k´1 electrons and
with that of a particle of charge `2 and k electrons. Indeed, Dk can describe both.
If none of the NUTs is at the origin, then Dk can be seen as the superposition of a
particle of charge +2 (D0 ) and k electrons (A0 ). Because of the Z2 identification
(6.38), the terms in (6.37) corresponding to the A0 NUTs come in mirror symmetric
pairs, with each pair contributing charge ´1. If one pair of NUTs is moved to the
origin, we can instead view Dk as the superposition of a proton (Atiyah-Hitchin
manifold) and k ´ 1 electrons.
For both Ak´1 and Dk , Q depends only on the asymptotic topology of the
manifold, and its value would be the same for a different NUTs configuration
giving the same Chern number. But this is reasonable: for a system of charged
particles, the dominant part of the asymptotic field depends only on the total
charge and not on the details of the configuration.
Chapter 8
Geometry and Energy
While conserved quantum numbers of particles are encoded in the topology of

the corresponding manifolds, we expect dynamical properties to be described by
their geometry. In this chapter we present some attempts at the construction
of an energy functional for ALF Ak´1 and Dk gravitational instantons based on
the geometrical properties of these manifolds. Sections 8.1 and 8.2 are devoted
to two approaches, the calculation of the Yang-Mills functional for a curvature
2-form and the calculation of the Euclidean version of the Komar mass, that do
not yield suitable energy functionals. However, since they are natural avenues to
be explored and since the constructions involved are interesting, we have chosen to
include them here. Section 8.3 presents two other approaches which successfully
reproduce the Coulomb energy of the particle systems modelled by Ak´1 and Dk ,
and which have been presented in [36].
8.1 A Yang-Mills Functional on Ak´1

The connection form ωk can be extended to a 1-form
ω 1 “ V ´1 pdψ ` αq . (8.1)
Its exterior derivative Ω1 is given by
` ˘
Ω1 “ dω 1 “ d V ´1 pα ` dψq “ ´V ´2 dV ^ pα ` dψq ` V ´1 dα. (8.2)
As we will show below, Ω1 is self-dual and square integrable so it is natural to

consider the associated Yang-Mills functional. First, however, we need to check
that ω 1 and Ω1 are well-defined at the NUTs. In order to do so we start by rewriting
α and dα in a more convenient form.
133
Chapter 8. Geometry and Energy 134
The forms α, dα can be written
k
1 ÿ z ´ zj px ´ xj q dy ´ py ´ yj q dx
α“ , (8.3)
2 j“1 ||p ´ pj || px ´ xj q2 ` py ´ yj q2
k
1ÿ 1 ´ ¯
dα “ ´ px ´ xj q dy ^ dz ` py ´ yj q dz ^ dx ` pz ´ zj q dx ^ dy .
2 j“1 ||p ´ pj ||3
(8.4)
Here px, y, zq are the Cartesian coordinates of a point p P R3 , pxj , yj , zj q are the
Cartesian coordinates of the NUT pj and
b
||p ´ pj || “ px ´ xj q2 ` py ´ yj q2 ` pz ´ zj q2 . (8.5)
Introducing spherical coordinates pri , θi , φi q centred in pi ,

ˆ ˙
z ´ zi y ´ yi
ri “ ||p ´ pi || , θi “ , φi “ arctan (8.6)
||p ´ pi || x ´ xi
and using the relation dφ “ px dy ´ y dxq{px2 ` y 2 q, we get the more convenient

expressions
1ÿ
α“ cos θi dφi , (8.7)
2 i
1ÿ
dα “ ´ sin θi dθi ^ dφi . (8.8)
2 i
Because of Dirac string singularities, the forms αi “ p1{2q cos θi dφi are only locally
defined, but their exterior derivatives dαi are global objects.
Regularity of ω 1 and Ω1 at NUTs
Suppose rk “ ||p ´ pk || Ñ 0. Since the NUTs are located at different points, ri ‰ 0

for all i ‰ k. We can see from expressions (8.7), (8.8) that α, dα are regular at the
NUTs. Therefore, we need only to check the quantities V ´1 , V ´2 dV appearing in
(8.1) and (8.2).
Consider the slightly more general expressions V ń , V ń dV . Take spherical
coordinates centred in pk , see (8.6), so that r “ rk . Since, for small r,

˜ ¸ń « ˜ ¸ffń
ÿ 1 1 ÿ 1
V ń “ 1` ` “ p2rqn 1 ` 2r 1 `
i‰k
2ri 2r i‰k
2ri
« ˜ ¸ff (8.9)
ÿ 1
“ p2rqn 1 ´ 2n r 1 ` ` Oprn`2 q,
i‰k
2ri
denoting by γ and c the quantities, finite for r “ 0,
ÿ ˆ 1 ˙ ÿ 1
γ“ d , c“1` , (8.10)
i‰k
2ri i‰k
2ri
we have
V ń “ p2rqn ` Oprn`2 q, (8.11)

dr
dV “ γ ´ 2 , (8.12)
2r
n´1
` n´2 ˘
ń
V dV “ ´2 r ´ 2n c rn´1 dr ` Oprn q. (8.13)
Comparing with (8.1), (8.2) we conclude that ω 1 , Ω1 are regular at NUTs.
Asymptotic behaviour of ω 1 and Ω1
In the limit of large r “ ||p|| we already know, see (6.44), that if µ is chosen as in
(6.43) then dψ ` α „ ωk . Since asymptotically V „ 1, using expression (7.39) for
ωk , we have
1
ω 1 „ ωk “ pdψ ` k cos θ dφq , (8.14)
2
k
Ω1 „ ´ sin θ dθ ^ dφ. (8.15)
2
Calculation of the Yang-Mills functional for Ω1
Although it ultimately does not provide an energy functional, it is interesting to

consider the integral of the squared L2 -norm of Ω1 over Ak´1 ,
ż
2
||Ω1 || η, (8.16)
Ak´1
for at least two reasons. The first is the fact that (8.16) is equal to the pure
Yang-Mills energy functional for Ω1 . The second is the fact that Ω1 is, up to
multiplication by a constant, the unique form in L2 H2 pAk´1 q, the space of square-
integrable harmonic 2-forms on Ak´1 , which is exact but not L2 -exact [45].
The integrand can be written
2
||Ω1 || η “ Ω1 ^ ˚Ω1 . (8.17)
However Ω1 is self-dual, in fact, expanding the exterior derivatives and making use
of the relation dα “ ˚3 dV , it can be written in the form
1 ` ˘
Ω1 “ ´ 2
Bz V β 1 ´ By V β 2 ` Bx V β 3 , (8.18)
V
where β 1 , β 2 , β 3 are the self-dual 2-forms (6.27). Therefore
2
||Ω1 || η “ Ω1 ^ ˚Ω1 “ Ω1 ^ Ω1
“ ‰ “ ‰
“ ´V ´2 dV ^ pα ` dψq ` V ´1 dα ^ ´V ´2 dV ^ pα ` dψq ` V ´1 dα
“ ´2V ´3 dα ^ dV ^ dψ “ ´2V ´3 dV ^ ˚3 dV ^ dψ
` ˘
“ d V ´2 ˚3 dV ^ dψ ´ V ´2 d ˚3 dV ^ dψ
(8.19)
having used dα ^dα “ 0, dV ^α ^dα “ 0, as both expressions, being independent

of ψ, are 4-forms on R3 , dV ^ dV “ 0, as dV is a form of odd degree, and
dα “ ˚3 dV . Since
˜ ¸
k k
ÿ 1 ÿ
d ˚3 dV “ 4V η R3 “4 1` η R3 “ 2π δp||p ´ pi ||q ηR3 , (8.20)
i“1
2 ||p ´ pi || i“1
with 4 the Laplacian and ηR3 the canonical volume form with respect to the
Euclidean metric on R3 , the last term in (8.19) can be rewritten
k
ÿ
´V ´2 d ˚3 dV ^ dψ “ ´2π V ´2 δp||p ´ pi ||q ηR3 ^ dψ. (8.21)
i“1
Let us finally evaluate the integral (8.16). Because of the Dirac deltas,
ż ˜ ˇ ¸
1 ÿ ÿ ||p|| ˇˇ
´2π δp||p ´ p i ||q η R3 ^ dψ 9 . (8.22)
Ak´1 V2 i i
V 2 ˇp i
The contribution of each NUT pi can be evaluated taking spherical coordinates

centred at pi , so that ||p ´ pi || “ ||p|| “ r, and using (8.11),
˜ ˇ ¸
||p|| ˇˇ ˇ
2
“ r2 p2rq2 ˇr“0 “ 0, (8.23)
V pi ˇ
therefore (8.21) can be safely dropped from the integral and (8.16) reduces to
ż ż
1 2
` ˘
||Ω || η “ d V ´2 ˚3 dV ^ dψ . (8.24)
Ak´1 Ak´1
In order to evaluate (8.24) we restrict the integral to the compact manifold with
boundary
ˇˇ ˇˇ
AR
k´1 “ tu P Ak´1 | πAk´1 puq ď Ru,
ˇˇ ˇˇ (8.25)
where R " ||pi || for all i and πAk´1 is the projection mapping each circle to its
base-point in R3 , apply Stokes’ theorem and finally take the limit R Ñ 8:
ż ż ż
1 2 1 2
||Ω || η “ lim ||Ω || η “ lim V ´2 ˚3 dV ^ dψ. (8.26)
Ak´1 RÑ8 AR RÑ8 BAR
k´1 k´1
On BARk´1 , ˚3 dV “ dα „ ´pk{2q sin θ dθ ^ dφ, V „ 1 with corrections of order

´1
OpR q, therefore
k
V ´2 ˚3 dV ^ dψ „ ´ sin θ dψ ^ dθ ^ dφ ` OpR´1 q. (8.27)
2
Since ż żπ ż 2π ż 2π
dψ ^ dθ ^ dφ “ ´ dθ dφ dψ, (8.28)
BAR
k´1 0 0 0
where the minus sign is due to our choice of the orientation dψ ^ dr ^ dθ ^ dφ

on Ak´1 , see (6.47), which induces the orientation ´dψ ^ dθ ^ dφ on BAR
k´1 , the
integral (8.16) finally evaluates to
ż ż
1 2 k ´ ¯
||Ω || η “ ´ lim sin θ dψ ^ dθ ^ dφ ` OpR´1 q
Ak´1 2 RÑ8 BARk´1
(8.29)
k π
ż ż 2π ż 2π
“ sin θ dθ dφ dψ “ 4π 2 k.
2 0 0 0
This quantity does not depend on the NUTs positions and cannot represent the
interaction energy of Ak´1 .
8.2 Komar Mass

An asymptotically flat solution pM, gq of Einstein equations admits a notion of
total energy, the ADM mass [86]. If pM, gq is stationary spacetime, i.e. it has
a timelike Killing vector field, an equivalent but simpler expression is given by
the Komar mass [86]. Actually the Komar mass can be defined for a slightly
more general class of spacetimes: let pM, gq be a spacetime having an asymptotic
timelike Killing vector ξ, normalised so that asymptotically ξa ξ a “ ´1. The Komar
mass MK of M is ż
1
MK “ ´ ˚ p∇ξq , (8.30)
4π S82
where ∇ is the Levi-Civita connection on M associated to g.
ALF Ak´1 and Dk gravitational instantons have, at least asymptotically, a
Killing vector. It is therefore interesting to calculate their Komar mass. We first
need to adapt the definition of MK to the Riemannian signature. Dropping the
requirement, now meaningless, of ξ being timelike and changing the overall sign,
since the normalisation of ξ at infinity is now ξa ξ a “ `1, we define the Komar
mass of a Riemannian 4-manifold having an asymptotic Killing vector ξ to be
ż
1
MK “ ˚ p∇ξq . (8.31)
4π 2
S8
Note that, because of the Killing equation, ∇a ξb is antisymmetric in a, b and

is therefore a 2-form,
1 ` 5˘
p∇ξqab “ dξ ab , (8.32)
2
where ξ 5 is the 1-form canonically associated to the vector field ξ via the metric.
In components
` 5˘
ξ a ” ξa “ gab ξ b . (8.33)
The Hodge dual of ∇ξ is therefore

?
g ` 5 ˘ab
˚p∇ξq “ dξ |ab| |cd| dxc ^ dxd , (8.34)
2
where the notation |ab| means that we are only summing over a ă b.
ALF Ak´1 gravitational instantons have a global Killing vector ξ “ B{Bψ. The
associated 1-form is
ξ 5 “ δψb gba dxa “ gaψ dxa “ V ´1 pdψ ` αr dr ` αθ dθ ` αφ dφq

(8.35)
“ V ´1 pdψ ` αq “ ω 1 .
Since Ω1 “ dω 1 is self-dual,
1 1
˚ p∇ξq “ ˚ dω 1 “ Ω1 . (8.36)
2 2
Asymptotically Ω1 „ ´pk{2q sin θ dθ ^ dφ therefore

ż ż
1 1 1 k k
MK “ Ω “´ sin θ dθ ^ dφ “ ´ . (8.37)
8π 2
S8 8π 2
S8 2 4
While ALF Dk gravitational instantons have no globally defined Killing vec-

tor, they have, since the metric is asymptotically of multi Taub-NUT form, an
asymptotic Killing vector, again given by B{Bψ, which is sufficient for our pur-
poses. However since the base of the asymptotic fibration of a Dk gravitational
instanton is RP 2 rather than S 2 and since the 2-form dξ 5 is not invariant under
the identification (6.38), we need to work with their double cover Dk introduced
in section 7.2. Proceeding similarly as we did for Ak´1 and using the asymptotic
relation Ω1 „ p2 ´ kq sin θ dθ ^ dφ we then have
ż
1 2´k
MK “ p2 ´ kq sin θ dθ ^ dφ “ . (8.38)
8π 2
S8 2
As we can see, the Komar mass also does not depend on the NUTs positions
and cannot represent the interaction energy of ALF gravitational instantons.
8.3 Area and Gaussian Curvature of Minimal 2-

cycles
So far we have focused on geometrical entities defined over the whole 4-manifold.
However ALF gravitational instantons have non-trivial 2-dimensional substruc-
tures: H2 pMk , Zq “ Zk where Mk stands for either Ak or Dk [33, 45]. Geometry
allows one to select preferred representatives among the 2-cycles generating the
homology: those of minimal area. The two energy functionals we propose in this
section are built from either the area or the Gaussian curvature of these preferred
2-cycles.
Let us start with Ak´1 , k ě 2. There is a basis of k ´ 1 ordered, independent
generators of H2 pAk´1 , Zq that are related to the simple roots of the Lie algebra
Ak´1 and intersect according to its Cartan matrix.
A very natural way of building representatives of these 2-cycles as submanifolds
of minimal area has been shown in [81]: consider the two NUTs pi , pi`1 and orient
the coordinate axes so that the line between pi and pi`1 lies along the x-axis. At
each point along this line there is a circle of radius 1{V pxq parametrised by ψ.
Since at the NUTs the radius collapses to zero, the surface defined by the union of
all these circles, which we denote by Si,i`1 , is topologically a 2-sphere, see figure
6.1. Its (unoriented) area is given by
ż 2π ż xi`1
´1
V dψ V dx “ 2π|xi`1 ´ xi | “ 2π ||pi`1 ´ pi || , (8.39)
0 xi
a constant factor times the Euclidean distance between the two NUTs. If instead
of a line we had taken any other curve connecting pi and pi`1 , the area would have
been the same constant factor times the Euclidean length of the curve, hence the
2-cycle built above is of minimal area.
Evidently, this construction can be done for any pair of distinct NUTs pi ,
pj , resulting in the minimal 2-cycle Si,j . While tS1,2 , . . . , Sk´1,k u is a basis for
H2 pAk´1 , Zq, all pairs of distinct NUTs play an equal rôle in Ak´1 and it would
be unnatural to consider only the basis 2-cycles. The natural choice is to consider
instead all the minimal 2-cycles connecting pairs of distinct NUTs. Such a choice
is invariant under the Weyl group of the Lie algebra Ak´1 , the symmetric group
Sk .
The sets tpi u, i “ 1, . . . , k, of NUT positions and tei u, i “ 1, . . . , k, of canonical
basis vectors of Rk have the same cardinality and so a one-to-one correspondence
pi Ø ei can be established between them. A possible choice for the set of all roots
of Ak´1 is t˘pei ´ ej q, i ‰ j “ 1, . . . , ku. The root ei ´ ej is associated with Si,j
and its negative with the same 2-cycle taken with the opposite orientation, Sj,i .
Our first proposal for an energy functional is simply to take π times the sum
of the inverse areas of the minimal 2-cycles Si,j :
k
p1q
ÿ 1
EAk´1 “ . (8.40)
iăj“1
||pi ´ pj ||
Our second proposal for an energy functional still involves the 2-cycles Si,j .
The endpoints of these 2-cycles, the NUTs pi and pj , are geometrically preferred
points. It is therefore interesting to calculate the Gaussian curvature Ki,j of Si,j
at the points pi and pj . Without loss of generality, we can relabel these points so
that i “ 1, j “ 2 and orient the axes so that p1 “ px1 , 0, 0q, p2 “ px2 , 0, 0q. The
metric on S1,2 is that of a surface of revolution,
ds2 “ V dx2 ` V ´1 dψ 2 . (8.41)
Its Gaussian curvature K1,2 is independent of ψ and is given by [29],
1 B 2 pV ´1 q
K1,2 “ ´ . (8.42)
2 Bx2
In evaluating (8.42) at p1 we take advantage of the fact that many terms are
zero. Introduce the shorthand notation di “ ||p ´ pi ||, d0 “ ||p||, dij “ ||pi ´ pj ||
and group the terms in V ´1 under a common denominator:
f
V ´1 “ ,
f `g
k k (8.43)
ź 1ÿ
f“ dl , g “ d1 . . . dpl . . . dk ,
l“1
2 l“1
where terms with a hat are to be omitted. Then

ˆ ˙ ˆ ˙
1 fxx g ´ f gxx fx ` gx ´ ¯
K1,2 “ ´ ` f x g ´ f gx . (8.44)
2 pf ` gq2 pf ` gq3
In the limit p Ñ p1 one has

$
&d for l ‰ 1,
l1
dl Ñ
%0 otherwise,
$
Bdl &px ´ x q{d for l ‰ 1,
1 l l1
Ñ (8.45)
Bx %1 otherwise,
$
B 2 dl &py 2 ` z 2 q{d3 for l ‰ 1,
l l l1
Ñ
Bx2 %0 otherwise.
Therefore in this limit
f Ñ 0,
fx Ñ d21 . . . dk1 ,
fxx Ñ 2pd2 . . . dk qx |p1 ,
1
g Ñ d21 . . . dk1 ,
2
ˇ k
1 ˇ 1ÿ
gx Ñ pd2 . . . dk qx ˇ `
ˇ d21 . . . dx
i1 . . . dk1 ,
2 p1 2 i“2
and the expression for K1,2 pp1 q simplifies to
1 ´ ¯
K1,2 pp1 q “ ´ f xx g ´ 2f pf
x x ` g x q
2g 2
«
1 4 1
“´ 2
2pd21 . . . dk1 qx ¨ d21 . . . dk1 ´ 2pd21 . . . dk1 q2
2 pd21 . . . dk1 q 2
ˆ ˙ ff
1 1
´ 2d21 . . . dk1 pd21 . . . dk1 qx ` pd31 . . . dk1 ` d21 d41 . . . dk1 ` . . .q
2 2
ˆ ˙
1 1 1
“4 1` ` ` ... ` . (8.46)
2d21 2d31 2dk1
More generally, for any 2-cycle Si,j ,

˜ ¸
1 1 y1 1
Ki,j ppi q “ 4 1 ` ` ` ... ` ` ... ` . (8.47)
2d1i 2d2i 2dii 2dki
Equation (8.47) does not involve the point pj in any particular way, so Ki,j ppi q “
Ki,l ppi q for any l ‰ i. Therefore we define
Kppi q “ Ki,l ppi q (8.48)
for any 2-cycle Si,l with l ‰ i. Summing over all the NUTs, dividing by four, and
reverting to the original notation dij “ ||pi ´ pj || we get
k k
p2q 1ÿ ÿ 1
EAk´1 “ Kppi q “ k ` . (8.49)
4 i“1 iăj“1
||pi ´ pj ||
Expressions (8.40) and (8.49) are very similar. In both cases the Coulomb
interaction energy of a system of k like-charged particles is reproduced and the
construction, which involves only pairs of electrons, does not run into self-energy
p1q p2q
problems. The only difference between EAk´1 and EAk´1 is that the latter contains
an additive constant equal to the number of electrons.
It seems natural to relate the length of the asymptotic circles to the classical
electron radius re “ e2 {pme c2 q, where e and me are the charge and rest mass of the
electron. Equation (8.49) is dimensionless. In dimensional form, with µ “ re {2,
and multiplying by an overall constant factor me c2 , we get
k
p2q 2
ÿ e2
EAk´1 “ k me c ` , (8.50)
iăj“1
||pi ´ pj ||
the sum of the rest masses and the interaction energy of k electrons.
Consider now the Dk family, k ě 2. Since our analysis is based on equation
(6.36), which holds only asymptotically, we expect the energy functionals that we
derive to be accurate if all the pi are far from the origin.
p1q
In order to construct EDk , we need to sum the inverse areas of the 2-cycles
corresponding to all the roots of the Dk Lie algebra. A possible choice of roots is
t˘pei ˘ ej q, i ă j “ 1, . . . , ku.1 As before, we have the correspondence pi Ø ei ,

hence the 2-cycles S˘i,˘j , connecting the NUTs ˘pi to the NUTs ˘pj , correspond
to the roots ˘ei ˘ ej . Multiplying by π and summing the inverse areas, we obtain
k ˆ ˙
p1q
ÿ 1 1
EDk “ ` . (8.51)
iăj“1
||pi ´ pj || ||pi ` pj ||
As mentioned in section 7.2, we can relate Dk to either k ´ 1 electrons and a

proton or k electrons and a particle of charge +2. However, (8.51) contains only
interaction terms of electron-electron type, i.e. involving the distances ||pi ˘ pj ||,
i ‰ j, and no interactions of proton-electron type, which involve the distances
p1q
||pi ´ 0|| and should come with the opposite sign. Therefore EDk is not a suitable
energy functional for Dk ALF gravitational instantons.
p2q
Consider instead EDk . As before, the Gaussian curvature of a 2-cycle Sij can
be calculated using (8.42). Relabel the points so that i “ 1, j “ 2 and orient the
axes so that p1 “ px1 , 0, 0q and p2 “ px2 , 0, 0q. Set pi`k “ ´pi , i “ 1, . . . , k, and
write
f
V ´1 “ ,
f `g`h
2k 2k (8.52)
ź f 1ÿ
f“ dl , g“´ , h“ d0 d1 . . . dpi . . . d2k ,
l“0
d0 4 i“1
where di “ ||p ´ pi ||, d0 “ ||p||, dij “ ||pi ´ pj ||. The Gaussian curvature of the
2-cycle S1,2 is
ˆ ˙
1 fxx pg ` hq ´ f pgxx ` hxx q
K1,2 “ ´
2 pf ` g ` hq2
ˆ ˙ (8.53)
fx ` gx ` hx ´ ¯
` fx pg ` hq ´ f pgx ` hx q .
pf ` g ` hq3
In the limit p Ñ p1 , using (8.45) where l can now take the values l “ 0, 1, . . . , 2k,
1
The cases k “ 2, 3 are degenerate. For k “ 3, the Lie algebra D3 is isomorphic to A3 . The
equivalence can be checked by verifying that the Cartan matrix of D3 associated to the ordered
set of simple roots te2 ´ e3 , e1 ´ e2 , e2 ` e3 u is equal to the Cartan matrix of A3 . Similarly one
can show that D2 is isomorphic to A1 ˆ A1 .
one has
f, g Ñ 0,
1
h Ñ d0 1 d2 1 . . . d2k 1 ,
2
fx Ñ d0 1 d2 1 . . . d2k 1 ,
gx Ñ ´2 d2 1 . . . d2k 1 , (8.54)
2k
1 1ÿ
hx Ñ pd0 d2 . . . d2k qx |p1 ` d0 1 d2 1 . . . dx
i 1 . . . d2k 1 ,
2 2 i“2
fxx Ñ 2 pd0 d2 . . . d2k qx |p1 ,
gxx Ñ ´4 pd2 . . . d2k qx |p1 .
The Gaussian curvature K1,2 evaluated at p1 is then, using the relations d1j “
||p1 ´ pj || if j ď k, d1j “ ||p1 ` pj || if k ` 1 ď j ď 2k, d01 “ ||p1 ||,
ˆ ˙
” 2 1 1 1
K1,2 pp1 q “ 4 1 ´ ` ` ` ...
||pi || 2 ||p1 ´ p2 || ||p1 ` p2 ||
ˆ ˙ı (8.55)
1 1 1
` ` .
2 ||p1 ´ pk || ||p1 ` pk ||
More generally, the Gaussian curvature of the 2-cycle Si,j , i ‰ j, i ‰ j`k, j ‰ i`k,
in the limit p Ñ pi is
˜ ˙¸
k ˆ
2 1 ÿ 1 1
Ki,j ppi q “ 4 1 ´ ` ` . (8.56)
||pi || 2 l“1, l‰i ||pl ´ pi || ||pl ` pi ||
Equation (8.56) does not involve pj in any particular way, so we can again define
Kppi q “ Ki,j ppi q (8.57)
for any 2-cycle Si,j with i ‰ j, i ‰ j ` k, j ‰ i ` k. Note that Kppi q “ Kppi`k q.

Since pi is identified with pi`k , we sum Kppi q{4 over pi for i “ 1, . . . , k only,
obtaining
k k k ˆ ˙
p2q 1ÿ ÿ 2 ÿ 1 1
EDk “ Kppi q “ k ´ ` ` . (8.58)
4 i“1 i“1
||pi || iăj“1 ||pi ´ pj || ||pi ` pj ||
If ||pi ´ pj || ! ||pi ||, ||pj ||, the term 1{ ||pi ` pj || is negligible, and (8.58) reduces
to an additive constant, equal to the number of electrons, plus the Coulomb inter-
action energy of k electrons and a particle of charge `2. If all the pi are far from
p2q
the origin, corrections to EDk due to the different behaviour of the exact metric
near the origin are small and we expect them to be related to the rest mass of the
positively charged particle. In dimensional form, with µ “ re , and multiplying by
an overall constant factor me c2 ,
k k ˆ ˙
p2q 2
ÿ 2e2 ÿ e2 e2
EDk “ k me c ´ ` ` . (8.59)
i“1
||p i || iăj“1
||p i ´ p j || ||p i ` p j ||
p2q
Let us now see what happens to EDk in the limit pk Ñ 0, with all the other
NUTs maintaining their positions. We cannot take this limit directly in (8.58),
but we can calculate the Gaussian curvature of the 2-cycles S˘i,˘j using the metric
(6.36) with V as in (6.41). Nothing particular happens to the 2-cycles tS˘i,˘j , i, j “
1, . . . , k ´ 1, i ‰ ju. The 2-cycles tS˘i,˘k , i “ 1, . . . , k ´ 1u now connect the points
t˘pi u to the origin. Their geometry near the origin is not described accurately by
the metric (6.36), but the description is accurate near pi . The Gaussian curvature
at the point pi ‰ 0 of any 2-cycle Si,j , i ‰ j, i ‰ j ` k, j ‰ i ` k, calculated using
(8.42), with V as in (6.41), is
˜ ˙¸
k´1 ˆ
1 1 ÿ 1 1
Kppi q “ 4 1 ´ ` ` . (8.60)
||pi || 2 l“1, l‰i ||pl ´ pi || ||pl ` pi ||
Therefore, neglecting the contribution of the origin, we have
k´1 k´1 k´1

ÿ ˆ ˙
ˇ
p2q ˇ 1ÿ ÿ 1 1 1
EDk ˇ “ Kppi q “ k ´ 1 ´ ` ` .
pk “0 4 i“1 i“1
||pi || iăj“1 ||pi ´ pj || ||pi ` pj ||
(8.61)
In dimensional form,
k´1 k´1
ÿ ˆ ˙
ˇ
p2q ˇ 2
ÿ e2 e2 e2
EDk ˇ “ pk ´ 1qme c ´ ` ` . (8.62)
pk “0
i“1
||pi || iăj“1 ||pi ´ pj || ||pi ` pj ||
We expect the contribution of the origin to modify the rest mass term; the
interaction terms in (8.62) can be recognised as the Coulomb interaction energy
of a proton and k ´ 1 electrons.
Chapter 9
A Model Under Construction
The geometric models of matter framework is both recent and innovative, therefore
some of the assumptions made in [6] are likely to change in the future. For example,
the initially proposed identification of baryon number with signature has been
dropped. This is partly a consequence of the disagreement between the signature
of ALF Ak´1 , k ą 0, gravitational instantons and the baryon number of a system
of k electrons.
In this chapter I give some discussion of the model hypotheses and of possible
future developments. Section 9.1 considers the physical and mathematical mo-
tivations for the assumptions made in [6]. Section 9.2 presents an idea for the
construction of multi-particle models starting from single-particle ones. Section
9.3 is devoted to a comparison with the Kaluza-Klein theory.
9.1 A Discussion of the Hypotheses

The assumptions made in the geometric models of matter framework on the struc-
ture of a manifold modelling a particle fall into three different categories: hypothe-
ses about the topology of the manifold, hypotheses about its geometry and other
symmetry requirements.
The main topological hypothesis is 4-dimensionality. Increasing the number of
space or spacetime dimensions has proved in the past to be a key step in the uni-
fication of seemingly unrelated phenomena. Maxwell unified theory of electricity
and magnetism relies on the spacetime model of special relativity, which brings
together 3-space and time. While not as successful as a physical theory, Kaluza-
Klein idea of a 5-dimensional spacetime with a “circular” space dimension provides
a unified description of classical gravitational and electromagnetic interactions.
It is a well known fact that dimension four is quite unlike any other dimension
as there is “enough space” to have highly non-trivial topologies, but not enough
space to “disentangle” them [80]. As a consequence, the topological and differential
categories are very different. In our theory topological constructions play a very
149
Chapter 9. A Model Under Construction 150
important rôle, so it is vital to have a framework which allows for a variety of

topologies rich enough to relate with the multivarious world of particle physics.
Four dimensions are special also at the geometrical level allowing, as we have
seen in section 6.1.1, to decompose the Weyl tensor into its self-dual and anti
self-dual parts.
Another key topological assumption is the distinction between compact and
non-compact manifolds. Each category has its own “asymptotic” requirements:
non-compact manifolds, describing charged particles, need to have an asymptotic
circle fibration over R3 ; compact manifolds, describing electrically neutral particles,
need to have a preferred embedded surface. This distinction can be understood
by remembering that electromagnetic interactions are long-ranged, while strong
and weak ones are short-ranged. Therefore, it is not to be unexpected that only
electric charge leaves its imprint at infinity, hence that only electrically charged
particles are modelled by non-compact manifolds.
The most important geometrical assumption is self-duality.1 Smooth 4-mani-
folds are too general a class to work with, so one needs to identify an appropriate
subclass. Self-dual 4-manifolds are a natural choice for several reasons. First, the
connected sum of self-dual manifolds admits, modulo some technical conditions, a
self-dual metric, thus potentially allowing to describe particle decay processes in
terms of gluing and separation of self-dual 4-manifolds. Second, the curvature 2-
form of a self-dual manifold minimises the Yang-Mills functional. Third, a self-dual
4-manifold allows for the introduction of Penrose’s twistor space, which permits
the use of a vast range of mathematical techniques. Systems of particles inter-
acting via strong forces might need to be modelled by non-self-dual 4-manifolds
though. In fact, while ALF gravitational instantons provide models for single pro-
ton, proton and electrons and multi-electron systems, there seems to be no space
for a multi-proton model, a fact that suggests that self-duality might not hold if
strong-interactions are present.
Another important geometrical assumption is the Einstein condition.2 It is
1
Self-duality is a condition invariant under conformal isometries, therefore it does not involve
the full Riemannian structure but just the conformal one.
2
The Einstein condition also does not involve the full Riemannian structure: if g is an Einstein
metric and ḡ “ Ω´2 g, with Ω a smooth positive function, then ḡ is Einstein provided that the
traceless part of ∇2 Ω is zero.
still unclear whether this condition needs to hold for all our models or only in
special cases. On one hand, the Einstein condition is a “homogeneity” requirement
limiting the behaviour of the curvature tensor. It is similar to the assumption of
constant Gaussian curvature for surfaces, and seems particularly adequate when
dealing with single particles or with systems predominantly composed by identical
particles. On the other hand, Einstein manifolds are stationary points of the
Euclidean Hilbert-Einstein action, a very natural and important functional, and
this suggests that the Einstein condition might be of a more fundamental character.
Finally, additional symmetry requirements might be needed in specific cases.
For example, models of single elementary particles need to be invariant under
an SOp3q or SU p2q group of transformations. This is not only dictated by the
observed rotational invariance of elementary particles, but it is also necessary in
order to be able to define spin structures on the manifolds [6].
9.2 Gluing Particles

The distinction between compact and non-compact manifolds has some unappeal-
ing consequences. First, there are two possible ways of modelling an electrically
neutral particle: either as a compact manifold, or as a non-compact one having
a trivial asymptotic fibration. An example of the former is the neutron [6], an
example of the latter is the vacuum, represented by the trivial bundle R3 ˆ S 1 ,
but also ALF D2 , which has a non-trivial particle content.
One way out of this unpleasant duplication of possibilities is to argue that
electrically neutral single particles are modelled by compact manifolds, but that
this needs not to hold for multi-particle systems whose total charge is zero. This
is a viable position, but it should be kept in mind that the distinction between
single particles and particle systems is not really a clear cut one. For example, the
neutron can be considered a composite system of quarks.
Second, compact manifolds do not have a natural asymptotic region and “glu-
ing” them to empty space is more complicated [6].
Third, the natural compactification (the Hausel-Hunsicker-Mazzeo one, see sec-
tion 6.3) of the manifolds representing the electron and the proton is topologically
the same (CP 2 ) as the model for the neutron. Since the compactification of a
manifold seems to have some physical significance, for example both definitions of
the electric charge make use of it, this is not very satisfactory.
I will now describe a modified framework, still at a preliminary stage, which
tries to solve these difficulties. I propose to model all particles, no matter their elec-
tric charge, by non-compact manifolds. Electrically neutral particles have a trivial
asymptotic circle fibration. The compactification of all single-particle manifolds
is topologically CP 2 , as it is for the electron and the proton. A multi-particle
system compactifies to the connected sum of many CP 2 s, consistently with the
case of Ak´1 .
Within this framework, it is possible to give a simple prescription for building
multi-particle models starting from single-particle ones. Let us consider the simple
example of a system consisting of two electrons first. Gluing the non-compact
manifolds representing each electron is a possibility, but one that would require
to specify how to identify the asymptotic regions of the manifolds. Especially for
manifolds corresponding to particles with different charges, and therefore different

asymptotic behaviours, this might be very difficult to do in a consistent way.
Let us try instead to glue the compactified manifolds. Recall that if M is a
non-compact manifold modelling a particle having an asymptotic circle fibration
over a 2-surface S, then the compactification XM of M is the smooth boundaryless
manifold XM “ M Y S. For an electron, M “ A0 , XA0 “ CP 2 and S “ CP 1 .
Since we are dealing with two electrons, it will be convenient to denote by M1 (M2 )
the non-compact manifold corresponding to the first (second) electron, by X1 (X2 )
the compactification of M1 (M2 ), and by S1 (S2 ) the compactifying 2-surface.
A natural way of “gluing” X1 and X2 is to take their connected sum3 X1 #X2 .
The 2-cycles S1 , S2 generate the middle dimension homology of X1 #X2 . Since
taking the connected sum of two manifolds perturbs them only locally,
S1 ¨ S1 |X1 #X2 “ S1 ¨ S1 |X1 “ 1, (9.1)

S2 ¨ S2 |X1 #X2 “ S2 ¨ S2 |X2 “ 1, (9.2)
S1 ¨ S2 |X1 #X2 “ S2 ¨ S1 |X1 #X2 “ 0, (9.3)
where Si ¨ Sj |X denotes the intersection number of Si and Sj in X, see appendix

B.2. The 2-cycle S1 (S2 ) represents spatial infinity for the first (second) electron,
but, as we can see from (9.3), S1 and S2 do not intersect in X1 #X2 , therefore each
electron has its own separate copy of spatial infinity. Two interacting electrons
should share the same notion of infinity, so, in order to get a model for the com-
posite system, we need to somehow connect S1 and S2 .4 We propose to do so by
removing from X1 #X2 a 2-surface S satisfying the two following properties:
• S “contains an equal mixture” of S1 and S2 , thus “connecting” the separate

infinities of the two electrons without treating any of them in a preferred
way.
3
To construct the connected sum M1 #M2 of two compact 4-manifolds M1 , M2 first remove a
4-ball from each of them, obtaining two manifolds M̃1 , M̃2 with boundary S 3 , then identify M̃1
and M̃2 along their boundaries.
4
It often happens in physics that non-interacting and interacting systems are modelled by
different mathematical structures. For example, the phase space of two non-interacting systems
is simply the product of the single phase spaces but this is generally not true if the systems are
interacting.
• The self-intersection number of S in X1 #X2 is
S ¨ S|X1 #X2 “ S1 ¨ S1 |X1 ` S2 ¨ S2 |X2 “ 2, (9.4)
so that the electric charge of the composite system is the sum of the electric
charges of its constituents — recall that the electric charge of a manifold
M having an asymptotic fibration with base S is given by minus the self-
intersection number of S in XM , where XM is the compactification of M .
Both conditions are satisfied if we take S “ S1 #S2 . Taking the connected

sum clearly connects S1 and S2 in a symmetric way. In general, if S1 , S2 are 2n-
dimensional compact oriented submanifolds of a 4n-dimensional compact oriented
manifold X then
pS1 #S2 q ¨ pS1 #S2 q|X “ S1 ¨ S1 |X ` 2S1 ¨ S2 |X ` S2 ¨ S2 |X . (9.5)
In our case, using (9.1), (9.2), (9.3), we find S ¨ S|X1 #X2 “ 2 so that (9.4) is
satisfied.
We have shown the construction in the case of two electrons, but it applies
more generally to non-compact manifolds M1 , M2 with oriented Hausel-Hunsicker-
Mazzeo compactifications X1 , X2 and oriented compactifying surfaces S1 , S2 . The
non-compact manifold M modelling the composite system is
M “ pX1 #X2 qzS, (9.6)
with
S “ S1 #S2 . (9.7)
By construction, S1 ¨ S2 |X1 #X2 “ 0, S1 ¨ S1 |X1 #X2 “ S1 ¨ S1 |X1 , S2 ¨ S2 |X1 #X2 “

S2 ¨ S2 |X2 , therefore (9.5) implies the additivity of electric charge,
S ¨ S|X1 #X2 “ S1 ¨ S1 |X1 ` S2 ¨ S2 |X2 . (9.8)
The case in which either or both of S1 , S2 is non-orientable awaits a more careful

investigation.
It easy to verify that the construction works well if we glue more than two
electrons. It is also reassuring to see that gluing the vacuum to any particle
gives back the particle. In fact, denoting by v the vacuum, with compactification
Xv “ S 4 and compactifying surface Sv “ CP 1 „ S 2 , by p the particle, with
compactification Xp and compactifying surface Sp , and by v ` p the composite
system, we have
` ˘ ` ˘
v ` p “ pXv #Xp q z pSv #Sp q “ S 4 #Xp z S 2 #Sp “ Xp zSp ,
(9.9)
pSv #Sp q ¨ pSv #Sp q|Xv #Xp “ S2 ¨ S2 |S 4 ` Sp ¨ Sp |Xp “ Sp ¨ Sp |Xp .
An esthetically pleasant aspect of this idea is the fact that all particles are
described by non-compact manifolds and all single-particle models have the same
compactification. It is also interesting to note that the surface compactifying
the electron is S 2 , which has the simplest topology for a compact orientable 2-
manifold, and that the surface compactifying the proton is RP 2 , which has the
simplest topology for a compact non-orientable 2-manifold. This suggests that par-
ticle generations might be obtained by removing surfaces with more complicated
topologies, the surfaces being orientable in the case of leptons and non-orientable
in the case of baryons. For example, the topological manifold modelling a muon
might be CP 2 zT 2 , and the one modelling a tauon CP 2 z pT 2 #T 2 q.
9.3 Relations with Kaluza-Klein Theory

There are many similarities between the geometric models of matter framework
and Kaluza-Klein theory, so we devote this section to a brief comparison of the two
models. Many presentation of Kaluza-Klein theory are available in the literature,
see e.g. [42, 70], therefore we will only give the shortest summary here.
In its original form [50, 54], Kaluza-Klein theory is simply vacuum general
relativity in five dimensions with the additional requirements that the metric tensor
is independent of one of the spatial coordinates x4 . Therefore the Kaluza-Klein
action is ż b
p5q
| detpgab q| Rp5q , (9.10)
M
p5q
where M is a Lorentzian 5-manifold with metric tensor gab independent of x4 ,
and Rp5q its scalar curvature. Solutions of Kaluza-Klein theory are therefore Ricci-
flat (as 5-dimensional manifolds) Lorentzian 5-manifolds having a globally defined
spacelike Killing vector field.
A possible physical explanation for the x4 -independence is that the fourth
spatial dimension is compact and very small, for example a circle of small radius.
Then exciting field modes along the fourth dimension would require extremely
high energies and low-energy dynamics would be sensitive to only three spatial
dimensions.
Kaluza-Klein theory provides a unified description of classical electromagnetic
and gravitational interactions. In fact the action (9.10), when decomposed accord-
ing to a 4-dimensional viewpoint, gives the 4-dimensional Einstein-Hilbert action
for a gravitational field coupled to an electromagnetic field and a scalar field. Un-
fortunately the original Kaluza-Klein model is not a physical theory since test
particles turn out to have rest masses proportional to their charges.
A metric of the form
p4q
ds2 “ ´dt2 ` gab dxa dxb , (9.11)
p4q
where gab is a Ricci-flat 4-dimensional metric, is a Ricci-flat 5-dimensional metric.
Therefore the metrics of both ALF Ak´1 and Dk gravitational instantons can
be trivially extended, by taking the product with a flat temporal dimension, to
solutions of vacuum Einstein equations in five dimensions.

Gravitational instantons of the ALF Ak´1 family have a globally defined Killing
vector field, therefore they are (the spatial part of) solutions of Kaluza-Klein the-
ory. In this respect they have been examined in [42, 78]: they represent k Abelian
magnetic monopoles which are not interacting.
Gravitational instantons of the ALF Dk family, however, admit a Killing vector
field only asymptotically, thus violating the requirement of global independence
from the fourth spatial dimension which is assumed in Kaluza-Klein theory. In this
respect the geometrical models of matter framework extends Kaluza-Klein theory
since it allows for a larger class of manifolds.5
The biggest difference between the two models is however to be found in their
dynamics. In the geometric models of matter framework Ak´1 models k electrons,
therefore the appropriate dynamics cannot be that of k non-interacting magnetic
monopoles which follows from the Kaluza-Klein action (9.10).
The energy functionals constructed in section 8.3 are a first step towards a
dynamical framework supporting the interpretation of Ak´1 as a model for a system
of k electrons, but we are still far from a complete understanding of how to include
time and dynamics in the picture. Whether this is to be achieved starting from
a 5-dimensional spacetime and an action, different from the Einstein-Hilbert one,
which suitably generalises the constructions of section 8.3, or via some totally
different route, is a problem for the future.
5
As discussed in section 9.1, in the geometric models of matter framework manifolds are
required to be Einstein but not necessarily Ricci-flat. All the examples that we have considered
are Ricci-flat, but, for example, the model for the neutron proposed in [6], CP 2 with the Fubini-
Study metric, has positive scalar curvature.
Part III
Appendices
158
Appendix A
Polaritons
A.1 Excitation Spectrum

In this appendix we derive the dispersion relation for low-energy excitations of a
polariton condensate.
Consider equation (2.32) with no external potential,
´ ¯
2ip1 ` iηqBt ψ “ ´ ∇2 ` |ψ|2 ` ipα ´ σ|ψ|2 q ψ (A.1)
Since for α “ σ “ η “ 0 equation (A.1) reduces to the GPe, we write ψ as the

sum of the Thomas-Fermi solution ψT F and a small correction term,
ˆ ˙
” ´
:
´ ¯¯ ı i
ψ “ ψT F 1 ` u exp pik ¨ x ´ iωtq ` v exp ík ¨ x ´ iωt exp ´ µt ,
2
(A.2)
with ψT F given by c
? α
ψT F “ µ“ . (A.3)
σ`η
Substituting (A.2) in (A.1) and keeping terms up to first order in we obtain a
linear system in u, u: , v, v : with coefficients matrix
˜ ¸
µp1 ` iσq Apkq ` 2ωp1 ´ iηq
“ 0, (A.4)
A˚ pkq ´ 2ωp1 ` iηq µp1 ´ iσq
with
Apkq “ k 2 ` µp1 ` i σq. (A.5)
In order for (A.4) to have non-trivial solutions, we need to impose that the
determinant of the matrix on the left-hand side vanishes. Doing so we obtain the
dispersion relation
1 ´ a ` 2
˘¯
ω“ ˘ f pkq ´ i α ` η k , (A.6)
2p1 ` η 2 q
159
Appendix A. Polaritons 160
with
f pkq “ k 4 ` 2µp1 ´ σηq k 2 ´ α2 . (A.7)
For non-zero η the result (A.6) has never appeared in the literature.
For α “ σ “ η “ 0 (A.6) reduces to the well known Bogoliubov dispersion
relation, d ˆ ˙
k2 k2
ωBog pkq “ `µ . (A.8)
2 2
For η “ 0 (A.6) gives
c
iα 2 α2
ωpkq “ ´ ˘ ωBog pkq ´ , (A.9)
2 4
the same spectrum as that obtained in [88] starting from a different model for the
condensate.
For small values of k the real part of ω is zero, so a direct application of
Landau’s criterion for superfluidity would give a vanishing critical speed. However,
as a consequence of the non-equilibrium properties of polariton condensates, drag
is highly suppressed if the flow velocity is less than some critical velocity of the
a
order of the equilibrium sound speed c “ µ{m [89].
A.2 Madelung Transformation

In this appendix we explicitly derive Madelung equations, which in dimensionless
form are given by (2.34), (2.35), starting from our main equation, (2.28), which
we rewrite here for reference
~2 2 ` ˘
i~p1 ` iηqψ9 “ ´ ∇ ψ ` Vext ψ ` g|ψ|2 ψ ` i Γ ´ κ|ψ|2 ψ. (A.10)
2m
First write ψ in polar coordinates as
~
ˆ ˙
?
ψ “ n exp i φ . (A.11)
m
Consider the equation obtained multiplying (A.10) by ψ ˚ and the complex conju-
gate equation,
~2 ˚ 2
i~p1 ` iηqψ ˚ ψ9 “ ´ ψ ∇ ψ ` Vext |ψ|2 ` g|ψ|4 ` ipΓ ´ κ|ψ|2 q|ψ|2 , (A.12)
2m
~2
í~p1 ´ iηqψ ψ9 ˚ “ ´ ψ∇2 ψ ˚ ` Vext |ψ|2 ` g|ψ|4 ´ ipΓ ´ κ|ψ|2 q|ψ|2 . (A.13)
2m
Summing (A.12) and (A.13) we obtain
~2 ˚ 2
i~pψ ˚ ψ9 ´ ccq ´ ~ηpψ ˚ ψ9 ` ccq “ ´ pψ ∇ ψ ` ccq ` 2Vext |ψ|2 ` 2g|ψ|4 , (A.14)
2m
where cc stands for complex conjugate. Now use the relations
ψ ˚ ψ9 ` cc “ Bt n,
ψ ˚ ψ9 ´ cc “ 2i n Bt φ,
ψ ˚ ∇2 ψ ´ cc “ ∇ ¨ pψ ˚ ∇ψ ´ ccq “ 2i∇ ¨ pn∇φq,
(A.15)
ψ ˚ ∇2 ψ ` cc “ ∇ ¨ pψ ˚ ∇ψ ` ccq ´ 2∇ψ ¨ ∇ψ ˚
´ ? ? ¯ ´ˇ ? ˇ ¯
2 2
“ ∇ ¨ 2 n∇ n ´ 2 ∇ n ` n |∇φ|
ˇ ˇ
? ?
“ 2 n ∇2 n ´ 2n |∇φ|2 ,
to get, writing ρ “ m n, the dimensional form of (2.35),
~ ~η ~2 1 2 ? ~2 Vext g
Bt φ ` Bt log ρ “ 2
? ∇ ρ ´ 2
|∇φ|2 ´ ´ 2 ρ. (A.16)
m 2m 2m ρ 2m m m
Taking the gradient of (A.16) and using u “ p~{mq∇φ we obtain

ˆ ˙ ˆ 2˙
B ρ gρ
ρ ` u ¨ ∇ u “ ´ ∇Vext ´ ∇
Bt m 2m2
(A.17)
~ ~ρ
„ ˆ ˙ 
1 2? B
` ∇ ? ∇ ρ ´ η ∇ log ρ
2m m ρ Bt
Note that in the limit ~ Ñ 0 (A.17) becomes Euler’s equation for a classic inviscid
compressible fluid with pressure
g 2
p“ ρ. (A.18)
2m2
Subtracting (A.13) from (A.12) we obtain
~2 ˚ 2
i~pψ ˚ ψ9 ` ccq ´ ~ηpψ ˚ ψ9 ´ ccq “ ´
` ˘
pψ ∇ ψ ´ ccq ` 2i Γ ´ κ|ψ|2 |ψ|2 . (A.19)
2m
Using again (A.15) along with ρ “ m n, u “ p~{mq∇φ we get the dimensional

form of (2.34),
2´ ρ¯
Bt ρ ` ∇ ¨ pρuq ´ 2ηρ Bt φ “ Γ´κ ρ. (A.20)
~ m
For η “ 0, (A.20) is the continuity equation for a fluid with a source and a sink.
A.3 Dimensionless Units

It is generally convenient to work with dimensionless equations. In this appendix
we give the dimensionless form of various equations employing oscillator units,
useful when there is a preferred time scale 1{ω and a preferred mass scale m. In
a
terms of these quantities we can also construct a length scale, ~{pmωq, and an
energy scale, ~ω. In our case m „ 7 ¨ 10´5 me , with me the electron mass, is the
effective mass of polaritons. If the polariton condensate is confined in an harmonic
trap of frequency ω then ω ´1 is the time scale. Otherwise, a convenient time scale
is the polariton lifetime τ „ 5 ps.
a
Writing x “ ~{pmωq x1 , t “ t1 {ω, x1 and t1 being dimensionless, and substi-
tuting in (2.28) we obtain
„ ˆ ˙
Bψ 1 2 2Vext 2g 2 2Γ 2κ 2
2i p1 ` iηq 1 “ ´ p∇ q ` ` |ψ| ` i ´ |ψ| ψ. (A.21)
Bt ~ω ~ω ~ω ~ω
If we set “ ~ω{2 and define the dimensionless quantities Vext

1
“ Vext {, α1 “ Γ{,
a
σ 1 “ κ{g, ψ 1 “ 2g{p~ωq ψ we recover (2.32),
” ´ ¯ı
2 2 2
2i p1 ` iηq Bt1 ψ 1 “ ´ p∇1 q ` Vext
1
` |ψ 1 | ` i α1 ´ σ 1 |ψ 1 | ψ1. (A.22)
For a stationary solution, setting µ1 “ µ{ we recover (2.33),

” ´ ¯ı
1 1 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 1 2
µ p1 ` iηqψ “ ´ p∇ q ` Vext ` |ψ | ` i α ´ σ |ψ | ψ1. (A.23)
In dimensionless form, Madelung equations (A.16), (A.20) become (2.34), (2.35),
Bt1 ρ1 ` ∇1 ¨ pρ1 u1 q ´ 2ηρ1 Bt1 φ “ pα1 ´ σ 1 ρ1 qρ1 , (A.24)

1 a
2Bt1 φ ` η Bt1 logpρ1 q “ ´pu1 q2 ´ ρ1 ´ Vext
1
` ? 1 p∇1 q2 ρ1 , (A.25)
ρ
a
where ρ1 “ 2g ρ{p~ωq and u1 “ m{p~ωq u “ ∇1 φ. For a stationary solution
Bt1 ρ1 “ 0, 2Bt1 φ “ ´µ1 and we recover (2.36), (2.37),
∇1 ¨ pρ1 u1 q “ pα1 ´ σ 1 ρ1 ´ ηµ1 qρ1 , (A.26)

1 a
µ1 “ pu1 q2 ` ρ1 ` Vext
1
´ ? 1 p∇1 q2 ρ1 . (A.27)
ρ
Finally, the dimensionless healing length λ1 , equilibrium speed of sound c1s , and
pressure p1 are given by
c
1 ρ1 pρ1 q2
λ1 “ ? 1 c1s “ , p1 “ . (A.28)
ρ 2 4
A.4 Some Details on the Numerical Techniques

Numerical simulations of equation (2.32),
´ ¯
2ip1 ` iηqBt ψ “ ´ ∇2 ` Vext pxq ` |ψ|2 ` ipα ´ σ|ψ|2 q ψ, (A.29)
have been performed by discretising the system and using a fourth-order finite
differences algorithm for the spatial derivatives, and a fourth-order Runge-Kutta
method for temporal evolution. The code has been written in Fortran 90.
Denoting by pi, jq a point on the computational grid, by ψi,j the value of ψ
at that point, having suppressed the temporal dependence of ψ from the notation
since it plays no rôle in the calculation of spatial derivatives, and by h the grid
spacing, the Laplacian ∇2 ψ has been numerically computed as
ˆ
2 1 4 1
p∇ ψqi,j “ 2 ´ 5 ψi,j ` pψi´1,j ` ψi`1,j q ´ pψi´2,j ` ψi`2,j q
h 3 12
˙ (A.30)
4 1
` pψi,j´1 ` ψi,j`1 q ´ pψi,j´2 ` ψi,j`2 q ,
3 12
using either reflective or periodic boundary conditions.

Let us denote by δt the time step, by ψt the value of ψ at time t and by ψ9 t
the value of Bt ψ at time t, having suppressed the spatial dependence of ψ from
the notation. The value of ψ9 t can be calculated, given the value of ψt , by using
equation (A.29), which, for notational convenience, we write below as ψ9 t “ Fpψt q.
The value of ψt`δt has been numerically computed, given the values of ψt and ψ9 t ,
using the following Runge-Kutta algorithm1 ,
δt 9
a “ ψt ` ψt , α“Fpaq
2
δt
b “ ψt ` α, β “Fpbq
2
g “ ψt ` δt β, γ “FpΨq
δt ´ 9 ¯
ψt`δt “ ψt ` ψt ` 2α ` 2β ` γ . (A.31)
6
1
In the actual code a smaller number of variables has been used to reduce memory usage.
In order to be able to modify parameter values on the fly, without having to

recompile the code, a specific interface has been written. It defines a Fortran
derived data type consisting of three structures: a keyword for the parameter, a
pointer to the corresponding variable in the code and a default value. Parameters
can be set by specifying the keyword and the desired value, separated by white-
space, either on a file or on the command line, in any order. If no value is specified
the default one is used. Dynamically allocated arrays have been used to be able to
change values on the fly even to quantities, like the lattice spacing, which determine
the dimension of the arrays used in the program.
The output of the simulations has been analysed using the computer algebra
system Mathematica, which has also been used to generate most of the figures.
Appendix B
Geometric Models of Matter
B.1 Topological Invariants

Two of the most important topological invariants of a 4-manifold are its Euler
number χ and its signature τ . In this appendix we review their definition and an
alternative expression in terms of the integral of a polynomial in the curvature
2-form.
B.1.1 Euler Number

Let M be a smooth manifold of dimension n. Define the i-th Betti number of M
` ˘
bi pM q “ dim H i pM q , (B.1)
where H i pM q is the i-th de Rham cohomology group of M . The Euler number

χpM q is the alternating sum of the Betti numbers of M ,
n
ÿ
χpM q “ p´1qi bi pM q. (B.2)
i“0
It is clear from the definition that χpM q is independent of the orientation of M .

If M is a compact boundaryless Riemannian manifold, the generalised Gauss-
Bonnet theorem [15, 66] expresses χpM q in terms of the integral of a polynomial
in the curvature 2-form R,
ż
1
χpM q “ 2 ||R||2 η, (B.3)
8π M
where the L2 -norm ||R||2 of R is

ÿ ÿ
||R||2 “ ||Rab ||2 “ pRab , Rab q. (B.4)
aăb aăb
167
Appendix B. Geometric Models of Matter 168
Note that
ÿ
||R||2 η “ Rab ^ ˚Rab (B.5)
aăb
If M has a non-empty boundary there is an additional contribution to (B.3)

coming from BM , a hypersurface integral involving products of the second funda-
mental form of the boundary with R [41].
Gravitational instantons can be viewed as manifolds with a boundary at infin-
ity, but the boundary contribution vanishes [40] and the Euler number, calculated
in chapter 6, equation (6.19), is still given by (B.3).
B.1.2 Signature
The signature of a bilinear form is the number of its positive eigenvalues minus
the number of the negative ones. Let M be a compact oriented 4-manifold. The
bilinear form
µ : H 2 pM q ˆ H 2 pM q Ñ R, (B.6)
ż
µ prαs, rβsq “ α ^ β, (B.7)
M
is symmetric and, by Poincaré duality, non degenerate. The signature of M is

defined to be the signature of the bilinear form µ.
If M is a Riemannian manifold it is possible to split H 2 pM q into the direct
sum of positive and negative ˚ eigenspaces, see section 6.1.1. Define
` ˘ ` ˘
b2` “ dim H 2` pM q , b2´ “ dim H 2´ pM q . (B.8)
Since µ is positive definite on H 2` pM q and negative definite on H 2´ pM q, an equiv-

alent expression for τ pM q is
τ pM q “ b2` pM q ´ b2´ pM q. (B.9)
The signature changes sign if the orientation of M is reversed as doing so inter-

changes self-dual and anti self-dual forms.
The Hirzebruch signature theorem [15, 66] expresses τ pM q in terms of the
integral of a polynomial in the curvature 2-form R. For a compact manifold

ż ˜ÿ ¸
1
τ pM q “ Rab ^ Rab . (B.10)
12π 2 M aăb
If R is self-dual ż
1
τ pM q “ ||R||2 η. (B.11)
12π 2 M
If M has a non-empty boundary there are additional terms contributing to

(B.11). One is a hypersurface integral on BM , but there is also a non-local spectral
contribution [41].
For ALF gravitational instantons the result is [40]
ż
1 1
τ pM q “ ||R||2 η ` 4 ξ˜1{2 ´ 1 ` , (B.12)
12π 2 M 3|Γ|
where Γ is the relevant subgroup of SOp3q (Γ “ Zk`1 for ALF Ak , Γ “ Dk´2

˚
for
ALF Dk ), |Γ| is the order of Γ and
$
& k2 ´1 if Γ “ Zk ,
ξ˜1{2 “ 12k
(B.13)
4k2 `12k´1
%
48k
if Γ “ Dk˚ .
For both ALF Ak and Dk gravitational instantons one then has
1 k´2
4 ξ˜1{2 ´ 1 ` “ . (B.14)
3|Γ| 3
B.2 Equivalence of Charge Definitions

In this appendix we show the equivalence between the two charge definitions dis-
cussed in chapter 7 when applied to an ALF Ak´1 gravitational instanton.
We first need to define, following [43], the self-intersection number of a sub-
manifold. Let S be a submanifold of M . A smooth map f : S Ñ M is transversal
to S if for all p P S X f pSq, one has
Tp S ‘ pf˚ qp pTp Sq “ Tp M. (B.15)
One can think of f pSq as a deformation of S which is is never tangent to S, see

figure B.1. Two submanifolds A, B of M such that
Tp A ‘ Tp B “ Tp M (B.16)
for all p P A X B are said to be transversal. If A, B are transversal then A X B is

a submanifold of M having codimension codimpAq ` codimpBq.
The self-intersection number S ¨ S|M of a compact oriented 2-surface S em-
bedded in an oriented 4-manifold M is the number
ÿ
S ¨ S|M “ np , (B.17)
pPSXf pSq
where np “ `1 if the orientation Tp S ‘ pf˚ qp pTp Sq is equivalent to the orientation

of Tp M , np “ ´1 otherwise. Since S and f pSq are transversal, S X f pSq is a 0-
manifold, that is a collection of isolated points. With the further assumption that
S is compact, this collection must be finite and the sum (B.17) is well-defined. The
self intersection number (B.17) does not depend on the choice of the transverse
map f [43]. Note that the concept of self-intersection of a surface has no intrinsic
meaning but depends on the embedding of S in M .
If S is a submanifold of M , the normal bundle NS M of S is the complement
in T M of the tangent space to S,
T M |S
NS M “ . (B.18)
TS
Note that NS M needs not to be the orthogonal complement of T S and that it

is defined even for manifolds without a Riemannian structure. A section of the
normal bundle is a smooth map f : S Ñ NS M . Zeros of f are points where
S, identified with the zero section of NS M , and f pSq intersect, see figure B.1.
Therefore a transverse deformation of S can be seen as a transverse section of the
normal bundle NS M of S.
Figure B.1: A transverse deformation f pSq of S can be seen as a transverse section

f of the normal bundle NS M of S. The surface S is naturally identified with the
zero section of NS M . Zeros of f correspond to intersection points between S and
its deformation f pSq.
We will need the following result [69]. Suppose that E Ñ S is a smooth

oriented real vector bundle of rank m over the smooth compact oriented manifold
S of dimension m. Suppose that f : S Ñ E is a smooth section that is transversal
to the zero section of E. Then
ż
S ¨ f pSq “ epEq, (B.19)
S
where epEq is the Euler class of E.

Consider the asymptotic fibration of an ALF Ak´1 gravitational instanton. A
2
neighbourhood of infinity has the topology of a disk bundle over S8 , see figure B.2.
This disk bundle can be extended to a rank 2 vector bundle by letting the transition
functions act on the whole of R2 . The resulting vector bundle is the normal bundle
2
of S8 in the compactification of Ak´1 . Taking m “ 2, E “ NS82 XAk´1 , XAk´1 being
(R, )
p
p
S2
( , )
2
Figure B.2: A neighbourhood of infinity is a disk bundle over S8 with projection
π. Over each point of the base, parametrised by pθ, φq, there is a disk parametrised
by pR “ 1{r, ψq.
the compactification of Ak´1 , in (B.19) and recalling that the Euler class of a real
vector bundle is the top Chern class of the complexified bundle [15], we obtain the
equivalence between the two charge definitions.
B.3 Principal Bundles, Connection and Curva-

ture
This appendix gives a very brief review of connections on principal bundles, mainly
following [64], [65].1
B.3.1 Principal Bundles

Let B be a smooth manifold and G a Lie group. A (smooth) principal G-bundle
P over B is a triple pP, π, σq where P is a smooth manifold, π : P Ñ B a smooth
surjective map and σ : P ˆ G Ñ P a right action of G on P such that
1. σ preserves the fibres of π:
πpσpu, gqq “ πpuq (B.20)
for all u P P , g P G.
2. P is locally trivial, i.e. for each p0 P B there exists an open neighbourhood

V of p0 in B and a diffeomorphism Ψ : π ´1 pV q Ñ V ˆ G of the form
Ψpuq “ pπpuq, ψpuqq, with ψ “ π2 ˝ Ψ : π ´1 pV q Ñ G, where π2 denotes
projection onto the second component, such that
ψpσpu, gqq “ ψpuqg (B.21)
for all u P π ´1 pV q and g P G.
Note that (B.20) implies

` ˘
Ψ´1 pp, gq “ σ Ψ´1 pp, eq, g (B.22)
for all p P B, g P G, with e the identity element of G. P is called the total space of
the bundle, B the base of the bundle. The pair pV, Ψq is called a local trivialisation.
When there is no danger of confusion we will simply write P for pP, π, σq.
1
Note, however, that some signs are different. In particular we use Hermitian rather than
anti-Hermitian generators of Lie algebras.
Let pU, ΨU q, pV, ΨV q be two local trivialisations and consider the quantity
ΨV pΨ´1 ´1 ´1
U pp, gqq “ pp, ψV pΨU pp, gqqq “ pp, ψV pσpΨU pp, eq, gqqq
(B.23)
“ pp, ψV pΨ´1
U pp, eqq gq “ pp, gV U ppq gq.
The function gV U “ ψV pΨ´1

U p¨, eqq : U X V Ñ G is called the transition function
between U and V . Note that gV U ppq can be rewritten as
gV U ppq “ ψV puq pψU puqq´1 , (B.24)
where u is any point in the fibre π ´1 ppq. In fact
ψV pΨ´1 ´1 ´1 ´1 ´1
U pp, eqq “ ψV pΨU pp, ψU puqpψU puqq qq “ ψV pσpΨU pp, ψU puqq, pψU puqq qq
“ ψV pΨ´1
U pp, ψU puqqq pψU puqq
´1
“ ψV puq pψU puqq´1 .
(B.25)
If pP, π, σq, pP 1 , π 1 , σ 1 q are two principal bundles over the manifolds B and B 1 ,
a map f : P Ñ P 1 is called a principal bundle map provided that σ 1 ˝ f “ f ˝ σ.
If B “ B 1 , a principal bundle map f which is also a diffeomorphism is called an
principal bundle isomorphism. A principal G-bundle over B isomorphic to the
product B ˆ G is a trivial principal bundle.
Let pP, π, σq be a principal G-bundle over B and pV, Ψq a trivialising neigh-
bourhood. A local cross-section (shortly, a local section) of P on V is a smooth
map sV : V Ñ π ´1 pV q such that sV ˝ π “ Id|V . Two local cross-sections sU , sV of
P are related by the equation
sU “ σpsV , gV U q. (B.26)
If V “ B then sV is a global section. Principal bundles admit global sections if

and only if they are trivial.
Lie groups have a preferred element, the identity, which gives a canonical way
to associate a local section to a local trivialisation. If pV, Ψq is a trivialising neigh-
bourhood, define an associated local section sV by sV ppq “ Ψ´1 pp, eq. Conversely,
a local cross-section sV on V determines, since the right action of G on itself is
free and transitive, a local trivialisation pV, Ψq via ΨpσpsV ppq, gqq “ pp, gq.
B.3.2 Vector Bundles and Associated Vector Bundles

Let B be a smooth manifold, V a vector space. A (smooth) vector bundle E over B
is a pair pE, πq where E is a smooth manifold and π : E Ñ B a smooth surjective
map such that
1. E is locally trivial, i.e. for each p0 P B there exists an open neighbourhood

U of p0 in B and a diffeomorphism Φ : π ´1 pU q Ñ U ˆ V of the form Φpuq “
pπpuq, φpuqq.
2. For all p P B the map φ|π´1 ppq : π ´1 ppq Ñ V is a vector space isomorphism.
The pair pU, Φq is called a local trivialisation. The rank of E is the dimension of
V.
Let pU, ΦU q, pV, ΦV q be two local trivialisations of a vector bundle E, v P V
and consider the quantity
ΦV pΦ´1 ´1
U pp, vqq “ pp, φV pΦU pp, vqqq “ pp, γV U ppq vq. (B.27)
For any fixed p P U X V the function γV U ppq “ φV pΦ´1 U pp, ¨qq : V Ñ V is a

vector space isomorphism, therefore γV U ppq must be an element of GLpk, Rq, where
k “ dimpVq. The map γV U : U X V Ñ GLpk, Rq is the transition function between
U and V . The group GLpk, Rq is called the structure group of V.
If a vector bundle E of rank k has some additional structure then it might be
possible to reduce the structure group G to a subgroup of GLpk, Rq. For example,
if E has a metric then it is always possible to reduce G to Opkq. A vector bundle
is orientable if it is possible to reduce G to GLpk, Rq` , the subgroup of GLpk, Rq
consisting of matrices with positive determinant. The tangent bundle T M of a
manifold M is orientable if and only if M is orientable. The structure group of an
orientable vector bundle endowed with a metric can be reduced to SOpkq.
Let pP, πP , σq be a principal G-bundle over B, V be a vector space and ρ :
G ˆ V Ñ V a representation of G on V . It is possible to construct a vector bundle
E with base B, fibre V and structure group G, called the vector bundle associated
to P via ρ (shortly, the associated vector bundle), as follows. The total space is
the quotient
P ˆV
E “ P ˆρ V “ , (B.28)
„
where if u, u1 P P , ξ, ξ 1 P V, then pu, ξq „ pu1 , ξ 1 q if it exists g P G such that
u “ σpu, gq and ξ “ ρpg ´1 , ξq. The projection π on P ˆρ V is given by
πpru, ξsq “ πP puq, (B.29)
where ru, ξs denotes an equivalence class in P ˆρ V.

A local trivialisation pU, Ψq of P induces a trivialisation pU, Φq of P ˆρ V, with
Φ given by
Φpru, ξsq “ pπP puq, ρpψpuq, ξq. (B.30)
The inverse is
“ ‰
Φ´1 ppp, ξqq “ Ψ´1 pp, eq, ξ . (B.31)
If pU, ΨU q, pV, ΨV q are two local trivialisations of P , gU V is the transition function

between V and U on P , pU, ΦU q, pV, ΦV q are the corresponding local trivialisations
on P ˆρ V, then the transition function γU V on P ˆρ V is given by
γU V ppqv “ ρ pgU V ppq, vq . (B.32)
If P is a principal G-bundle, V “ g, ρ “ ad, the associated vector bundle P âd g

is called the adjoint bundle and denoted by ad P .
B.3.3 Connection Form

Let pP, π, σq be a principal G-bundle over B. A connection form ω : T P Ñ g is a
g-valued 1-form such that, for all W P g, g P G
σg˚ ω “ adg´1 ˝ ω, (B.33)

ωpW # q “ W. (B.34)
Here ad : G ˆ g Ñ Endpgq is the adjoint representation of G on g and adg : g Ñ g

is defined by adg pW q “ adpg, W q. For a matrix Lie group, adg pW q “ gW g ´1 . The
map σg : P Ñ P is given by σg puq “ σpu, gq. The vector field W # , defined by

ˇ
d ˇˇ ` ˘
W puq “ ˇ σ u, ei tW ,
#
(B.35)
dt t“0
is the fundamental vector field on P determined by W P g.

A connection form ω is defined on the total space of the principal bundle P .
Given a local section sV , it is possible to pull ω back to a 1-form locally defined
on the base B of the fibration. The latter is usually called a gauge potential. If sU
and sV are two local cross-sections, the corresponding gauge potentials AU “ s˚U ω
and AV “ s˚V ω are related by the expression
AU “ gV´1U AV gV U ` gV´1U dgV U , (B.36)
If P is a G-bundle over B and u P P , the vertical subspace Vu P of Tu P is

defined, without need of any additional structure, as the space tangent to the fibre
at u. However, there is no canonical way of choosing a complement of Vu P in
Tu P . The required extra structure is given by a connection form ω: the horizontal
subspace Hu P of Tu P is defined to be the kernel of ωu . For any u P P then
Tu P “ Hu P ‘ Vu P. (B.37)
In fact, by the homomorphism theorem, Tu P “ Ker pωu q‘Im pωu q “ Hu P ‘g. The
spaces g and Vu P are isomorphic, an isomorphism being the map W ÞÑ W # puq,
where W P g and W # is the fundamental vector field associated to W . Given
v P Tu P , we denote by vH its horizontal part and by vV its vertical part. We say
that v P Tu P is vertical if vH “ 0.
Let P be a principal G-bundle, ω a connection on P , α P Ωk pP, gq, the space
of g-valued k-forms on P . The covariant exterior derivative dω α of α is defined
by the equation
dω α pu1 , . . . , uk q “ dαppu1 qH , . . . , puk qH q, (B.38)
where tui u are k vector fields on P . If α P Ωk pP, gq then dω α P Ωk`1 pP, gq.
B.3.4 Curvature Form

The curvature form Ω associated to a connection form ω is the g-valued 2-form
Ω “ dω ω. (B.39)
An equivalent expression is given by
Ω “ dω ` ω ^ ω. (B.40)
The curvature form Ω satisfies the Bianchi identity
dω Ω “ 0. (B.41)
Note that if G is Abelian then dω ω “ dω, the ordinary exterior derivative.

We can obtain 2-forms locally defined on B by pulling back Ω with respect
to local sections of P . If sU : U Ñ P is a local section of P , the field strength
FU P Ω2 pU, gq associated to Ω with respect to the local section sU is the pullback
FU “ s˚U Ω. Using (B.40) we see that
FU “ s˚U Ω “ dAU ` AU ^ AU . (B.42)
Note that in (B.40) d is acting on forms defined on P , while in (B.42) it is acting

on forms defined on B.
The transformation property (B.36) of AU induces the following transformation
for FU :
FU “ gV´1U FV gV U . (B.43)
Unless P is trivial or G is Abelian, we can see from (B.43) that there is no globally
defined field strength on B. However if G is Abelian, then FUi “ FUj for any local
sections sUi , sUj of P and we can define a form F P Ω2 pB, gq as
F |p “ F U |p (B.44)
where pU, Ψq is any local trivialisation of P such that p P U .

Whether or not G is Abelian it is possible to construct from Ω a globally defined
2-form FΩ which, however, takes values not in g but in ad P . In order to do so we

first we need to give some definitions.
Let V be a vector space, and denote by Ωk pP, Vq, the space of V-valued k-
forms on P . A form α P Ωk pP, Vq is called horizontal if it vanishes when any of
its argument is vertical. If ρ : G ˆ V Ñ V is a representation of G on V, α is said
to be ρ-equivariant if
ρ˚g α “ ρpg ´1 qα, (B.45)
where ρg “ ρpg, ¨q and ρpg ´1 qα denotes the action of ρpg ´1 q on α induced by ρ.

The subspace of Ωk pP, Vq given by horizontal ρ-equivariant k-forms is isomor-
phic to the space Ωk pB, P ˆρ Vq of pP ˆρ Vq-valued k-forms on B, where P ˆρ V
denotes the vector bundle associated to P [64]. An isomorphism is
α ÞÑ rs, s˚ αs, (B.46)
where s is an arbitrary local section of P .

It is evident from (B.41) and the definition of covariant exterior derivative that
Ω is horizontal. It is also ad-equivariant, in fact
` ˘
σg˚ dω “ d σg˚ ω “ d padg´1 ˝ ωq “ adg´1 ˝ dω, (B.47)
σg˚ pω ^ ωq “ σg˚ ω ^ σg˚ ω “ padg´1 ˝ ωq ^ padg´1 ˝ ωq “ adg´1 ˝ pω ^ ωq , (B.48)
so that summing
σg˚ Ω “ adg´1 ˝ Ω. (B.49)
Therefore we can identify Ω with a ad P -valued 2-form FΩ on B.

Let sU , sV be two local sections of P . Since FΩ is globally defined on B,
FΩ “ rsU , s˚U Ωs “ rsU , FU s

“ rsV , s˚V Ωs “ rsV , FV s “ rσpsU , gU V q, FV s “ rsU , adgU V FV s (B.50)
“ rsU , gU V FV gU´1V s “ rsU , gV´1U FV gV U s,
that is FU “ gV´1U FV gV U , which is the transformation law (B.43). Therefore a

collection of field strengths associated to different local trivialisations which are
related by (B.43), fit together to give a globally defined 2-form FΩ on B, however

such a form takes values on ad P rather then g.
If G is Abelian then adg “ Id for all g P G and ad P is the trivial vector bundle
B ˆ g. Since field strengths relative to different local trivialisation are equal, we
can write
FΩ “ rs, s˚ F s, (B.51)
with F P Ω2 pB, gq the globally defined g-valued 2-form on B (B.44). The curvature
form Ω can be written Ω “ πP˚ F . In local coordinates one simply has Ω “ FΩ “ F .
B.3.5 Characteristic Classes

In order for the integral over B of a quantity constructed out of FΩ to be well
defined, this quantity needs to be invariant under the transformation (B.43). An
example of invariant quantity is TrpFΩ q since TrpFU q “ TrpgV´1U FV gV U q “ TrpFV q.
More generally, one can consider invariant polynomials in FΩ , i.e. polynomials P
satisfying Ppg ´1 W gq “ PpW q for all g P G, W P g. If P is of degree k, then
PpFΩ q P Ω2k pB, gq.
Let FΩ , FΩ1 be the ad P -valued 2-forms associated to (the curvature of) two
different connections and let P be an invariant polynomial of degree k. It can be
shown that
dPpFΩ q “ 0, (B.52)
PpFΩ q ´ PpFΩ1 q “ dα, (B.53)
where α P Ω2k´1 pB, gq [65]. A consequence of (B.53) is that, provided that B has
no boundary, ż ż
PpFΩ q “ PpFΩ1 q. (B.54)
B B
A Characteristic class c of a principal bundle P is the cohomology class rPpFΩ qs

determined by some particular invariant polynomial P. Because of (B.53), c does
not depend on the chosen connection on P . In fact, characteristic classes measure
topological properties of P . The characteristic class relevant for the electric charge
definition in chapter 7 is the first Chern class c1 pP q, given by2

„ 
1
c1 pP q “ ´ Tr pFΩ q . (B.55)
2π
The integral of c1 pP q over the base B of P is an integer C1 pP q known as the first

Chern number of P .
2
Note that we are using Hermitian generators for the Lie algebra.
B.4 Calculation of R and ||R||2 for Ak´1

In this appendix we compute the curvature 2-form R of Ak´1 working with an
orthonormal coframe, following the standard method described e.g. in [63].
The metric of Ak´1 is
ds2 “ V dx2 ` dy 2 ` dz 2 ` V ´1 pdψ ` αq2 ,

` ˘
(B.56)
with
k
1ÿ 1
V “1` , (B.57)
2 i“1 ||p ´ pi ||
an harmonic function. We choose the orthonormal coframe
1
e1 “ ? pdψ ` αq ,
V
?
e2 “ V dx, (B.58)
?
e3 “ V dy,
?
e4 “ V dz.
The corresponding volume element is
η “ e1 ^ e2 ^ e3 ^ e4 “ V dψ ^ dx ^ dy ^ dz, (B.59)
Since we are working in an orthonormal frame, tensor components with different

indices positioning have the same value.
The connection form ω can be calculated making use of the relations
dei ` ω ij ^ ej “ 0. (B.60)
The result is
1 ` ˘
ω 12 “ ´ Bx V e1 ´ Bz V e3 ` By V e4 ,
2V 3{2
1 ` ˘
ω 13 “ ´ 3{2 By V e1 ` Bz V e2 ´ Bx V e4 ,
2V
1 ` ˘
ω 14 “ ´ 3{2 Bz V e1 ´ By V e2 ` Bx V e3 ,
2V (B.61)
1 ` ˘
ω 23 “ ´ 3{2 1 2 3
Bz V e ´ B y V e ` B x V e ,
2V
1 ` ˘
ω 24 “ ´ 3{2 ´By V e1 ´ Bz V e2 ` Bx V e4 ,
2V
1 ` ˘
ω 34 “ ´ 3{2 Bx V e1 ´ Bz V e3 ` By V e4 .
2V
The curvature 2-form R is given by
Rik “ dω ik ` ω ij ^ ω jk . (B.62)
R is related to the Riemann tensor Rabcd by the relation
1
Rab “ Rabcd ec ^ ed . (B.63)
2
Since R is self-dual with respect to the orientation (B.59), it satisfies the relations
R12 “ R34 , R13 “ ´R24 , R14 “ R23 . (B.64)
Self duality of R and the symmetry Rabcd “ Rcdab of the Riemann tensor imply
that each of the 2-forms Rab is self-dual, that is
pRab q12 “ pRab q34 , pRab q13 “ ´ pRab q24 , pRab q14 “ pRab q23 . (B.65)
The result is
1 ` 2 2 2
˘` 1 2 3 4
˘
R12 “ R34 “ V B xx V ´ 2pB x V q ` pB y V q ` pB z V q e ^ e ` e ^ e
2V 3
1 ` 1 3 2 4
˘
` pV Bxy V ´ 3B x V B y V q e ^ e ´ e ^ e
2V 3
1 ` 1 4 2 3
˘
` pV Bxz V ´ 3B x V B z V q e ^ e ` e ^ e ,
2V 3
1 ` 1 2 3 4
˘
R13 “ R42 “ pV B xy V ´ 3B x V B y V q e ^ e ` e ^ e
2V 3
1 ` 2 2 2
˘` 1 3 2 4
˘
` V B yy V ´ 2pB y V q ` pB x V q ` pB z V q e ^ e ´ e ^ e
2V 3
1 ` 1 4 2 3
˘
` pV Byz V ´ 3B y V B z V q e ^ e ` e ^ e ,
2V 3
1 ` 1 2 3 4
˘
R14 “ R23 “ pV B xz V ´ 3B x V B z V q e ^ e ` e ^ e
2V 3
1 ` 1 3 2 4
˘
` pV Byz V ´ 3B y V B z V q e ^ e ´ e ^ e
2V 3
1 ` 2 2 2
˘` 1 4 2 3
˘
` V B zz V ´ 2pB z V q ` pB x V q ` pB y V q e ^ e ` e ^ e .
2V 3
(B.66)
The squared L2 -norm ||R||2 of R is given by
4
2 1 1 ÿ
||R|| η “ R ^ ˚R “ R ^ R “ Rab ^ Rab
2 2 aăb“1
“ 2 pR12 ^ R12 ` R13 ^ R13 ` R14 ^ R14 q

ÿ4 ´ ¯
“2 pR12ab q2 ` pR13ab q2 ` pR14ab q2 η
”aăb“1 ` ˘ı
“ 4 pR1212 q2 ` pR1313 q2 ` pR1414 q2 ` 2 pR1213 q2 ` pR1214 q2 ` pR1314 q2 η.
(B.67)
Substituting (B.66) gives
1 ´ ¯
||R||2 “ pBxx V q 2
` pB yy V q2
` pB zz V q 2
` 2pBxy V q2
` 2pByz V q 2
` 2pBzx V q2
V4
6 ´
` 5 pBx V q2 Bxx V ` pBy V q2 Byy V ` pBz V q2 Bzz V
V ¯
´ 2Bx V By V Bxy V ´ 2By V Bz V Byz V ´ 2Bz V Bx V Bzx V
6 ´ 2 2 2
¯2
` 6 pBx V q ` pBy V q ` pBx V q .
V
(B.68)
Integral of ||R||2 η over A0
On A0 is more convenient to use the coordinates (r, θ, φ, ψ) (7.37) in terms of

which V “ 1 ` 1{p2rq and
ˆ ˙2
2 2 2 2 ´1 1
ds “ V pdr ` r dΩ q ` V dψ ` cos θ dφ . (B.69)
2
We choose the orthonormal coframe

ˆ ˙
1 1 1
“? dψ ` cos θ dφ ,
V 2
?
2 “ V dr, (B.70)
?
3 “ V r dθ,
?
4 “ V r sin θ dφ.
The corresponding volume element is
η “ 1 ^ 2 ^ 3 ^ 4 “ r2 V sin θ dψ ^ dr ^ dθ ^ dφ. (B.71)
1 1
The bases (B.58) and (B.70) are related by the transformation ea “ Λaa a ,
where ¨ ˛
1 0 0 0
˚ ‹
˚ 0 sin θ cos φ cos θ cos φ ´ sin φ ‹
Λ“˚ ˚ ‹. (B.72)
˝ 0 sin θ sin φ cos θ sin φ cos φ ‹
‚
0 cos θ ´ sin θ 0
Since, denoting with unprimed (primed) indices the components of R with respect
1
to the basis ta u (tea u),
` ˘a 1 1
Rab “ Rab “ Λ´1 a1 Ra b1 Λb b , (B.73)
we have
4 `1 2 3 4
˘
R12 “ R34 “ ^ ` ^ ,
p1 ` 2rq3
2 `1 ˘
R13 “ R42 “´ 3
^ 3 ´ 2 ^ 4 , (B.74)
p1 ` 2rq
2 `1 ˘
R14 “ R23 “´ 3
^ 4 ` 2 ^ 3 .
p1 ` 2rq
The squared L2 -norm of R is
96
||R||2 “ . (B.75)
p1 ` 2rq6
The integral of ||R||2 η over A0 is

ż ż 2π ż 2π żπ ż8 ˆ ˙
2 96 2 1
||R|| η “ dφ dψ sin θ dθ r 1` dr
A0 0 0 0 0 p1 ` 2rq6 2r
ż8 (B.76)
2 48r
“ 8π 5
dr “ 8π 2 ,
0 p1 ` 2rq
having used (8.28).

Direct integration of ||R||2 η over Ak´1 is not a viable if k ą 2, so let us repeat
the calculation using a different method which can be applied for any value of k.
Write
48r
||R||2 η “ ´ sin θ dr ^ dψ ^ dθ ^ dφ
p1 ` 2rq5
ˆ ˙
1 ` 8r
“d sin θ ` f pθ, φ, ψq ^ dψ ^ dθ ^ dφ
p1 ` 2rq4 (B.77)
„ˆ ˙ 
1 ` 8r
“d sin θ ` f pθ, φ, ψq dψ ^ dθ ^ dφ
p1 ` 2rq4
“ dY,
where f is an arbitrary function of the angular variables, and

ˆ ˙
1 ` 8r
Y“ sin θ ` f pθ, φ, ψq dψ ^ dθ ^ dφ. (B.78)
p1 ` 2rq4
Having written ||R||2 η as a total derivative, we can calculate its integral over A0
using Stokes’ theorem. However in order to do so, Y needs to be well-defined on
the whole of A0 . Since the angular coordinates are ill-defined for r “ 0, we need
to take f pθ, φ, ψq “ ´ sin θ.
The 3-form Y is not compactly supported so, proceeding in a similar way as
we did when calculating the integral (8.24) in chapter 8, we first restrict it to the
compact manifold with boundary
AR
0 “ tu P A0 | ||πA0 puq|| ď Ru, (B.79)
where R " 1 and πA0 is the projection from A0 to R3 mapping each circle to its
base-point, apply Stokes’ theorem and finally take the limit for R Ñ 8:
ż ż ż
2
||R|| η “ lim d pY dψ ^ dθ ^ dφq “ lim Y dψ ^ dθ ^ dφ
A0 RÑ8 AR RÑ8 BAR
0 0
ˆ ˙ (B.80)
1 ` 8R
“ ´8π 2 lim ´ 1 “ 8π 2 ,
RÑ8 p1 ` 2Rq4
having used (8.28).
Integral of ||R||2 η over Ak´1
Since H 2 pAk´1 q “ 0, we know that ||R||2 η is exact. Let us try to write its primitive
as
||R||2 η “ ||R||2 r2 V sin θ dψ ^ dr ^ dθ ^ dφ

“ Y dr ^ dψ ^ dθ ^ dφ “ dY ^ dψ ^ dθ ^ dφ (B.81)
“ d pY dψ ^ dθ ^ dφq ,
where
Y “ ´ ||R||2 V r2 sin θ,
ż (B.82)
Y “ Y pr, θ, φq dr.
Clearly Y is determined up to an arbitrary function f pθ, φ, ψq which we will de-

termine imposing that the Y is well defined on Ak´1 . Restricting the integral to
the compact manifold with boundary
ˇˇ ˇˇ
AR
k´1 “ tu P Ak´1 | πAk´1 puq ď Ru,
ˇˇ ˇˇ (B.83)
where R " ||pi || for all i, we have

ż ż ż
2
||R|| η “ lim d pY dψ ^ dθ ^ dφq “ lim Y dψ ^ dθ ^ dφ.
Ak´1 RÑ8 AR RÑ8 BAR
k´1 k´1
(B.84)
Y is a complicated function of r, θ, φ, ψ but we can easily estimate its large r

behaviour up to OpR´1 q corrections which vanish in the limit R Ñ 8. At large r,
V „ 1 ` k{p2rq and (B.68) reduces to 96k 2 {pk ` 2rq6 , so asymptotically
48k 2 r
Y “´ sin θ dr ^ dψ ^ dθ ^ dφ,
pk ` 2rq5
ˆ ˙ (B.85)
2 k ` 8r
Y“ k sin θ ` f pθ, φ, ψq dψ ^ dθ ^ dφ.
pk ` 2rq4
Since (B.85) is only valid asymptotically, we need to check that Y is well-defined

not at r “ 0, but at the NUTs positions. Near a NUT pi , up to corrections
vanishing in the r Ñ pi limit, Y is given by (B.78) but with spherical coordinates
centred at pi ,
ˆ ˙
1 ` 8 ||p ´ pi ||
Y“ ´ sin θi ` f pθ, φ, ψq dψ ^ dθ ^ dφ, (B.86)
p1 ` 2 ||p ´ pi ||q4
where θi “ arccosppz ´ zi q{ ||p ´ pi ||q. The 3-form (B.86) is ill-defined at p “ pi

unless f pθ, φ, ψq “ ´ sin θi . Therefore we need to take, summing over all the
NUTs,
k
ÿ
f “´ sin θi . (B.87)
i“1
Asymptotically f “ ´k sin θ, therefore

ż ż ˆ ˙
2 k ` 8r
||R|| η “ k lim k ´ 1 sin θ dψ ^ dθ ^ dφ
Ak´1 RÑ8 BAR
k´1
pk ` 2rq4
ˆ ˙
2 k ` 8R (B.88)
“ ´8π k lim k ´1
RÑ8 pk ` 2Rq4
“ 8π 2 k.
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Pattern-forming in

Dissertation submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

Pattern-forming in Non-equilibrium Quantum Systems

3 Spontaneous Rotating Vortex Lattices and Their Robustness 53

5 Influence of the Pumping Geometry on the Dynamics 85

II Geometrical Models of Matter 95

7 Asymptotic Topology and Charge 115

8 Geometry and Energy 133

9 A Model Under Construction 149

III Appendices 158

B Geometric Models of Matter 167

This Thesis in Brief

This chapter presents some background material on polariton condensates. Sec-

2.1 The Physical System

is in term of their quantum superpositions, polaritons.

Figure 2.1: Cartoon of a semiconductor microcavity. Bragg reflectors, made of

tionary Schrödinger equation

positive, negative or zero.

m “ 2mγ „ 2 ¨ 10´4 me . (2.8)

2.1.2 To Condense or not To Condense

A review of Bose-Einstein condensation

Hpx1 , . . . , xN q ψpx1 , . . . , xN q “ E ψpx1 , . . . , xN q, (2.11)

where ψpx1 . . . , xN q is a many-body wave function and the Hamiltonian H is of

Here U is the inter-particle potential and Vext an external potential.

N -particles eigenstate with energy E, and ψEN px1 , . . . , xN q be the corresponding

ψEN px1 , . . . , xN q “ xx1 . . . xN |ψEN y, (2.13)

In the second quantisation formalism, the Hamiltonian Ĥ and particle number

It is convenient to expand ψ̂pxq in terms of a complete system of orthonormal

spatially uniform system of free bosons, U “ Vext “ 0. Working in a finite volume,

with p “ 2π~ a{L, a “ pa1 , a2 , a3 q, ai P N, and expand ψ̂pxq as

having used n0 ` 1 „ n0 as n0 " 1 (macroscopic occupation). Therefore, we

unfortunate since ψpxq is actually a function.

ρ1 px, x1 q “ ψ̂ : px1 qψ̂pxq (2.24)

approaches a finite nonzero value in the limit |x ´ x1 | Ñ 8, a phenomenon known

known as the Gross-Pitaevskii equation (GPe), or as the non-linear Schrödinger

The Problem of Condensation for Polaritons Systems

diagonal single-particle density matrix at large distances.

leading to a faster thermalisation process. Overcome the thermalisation problem,

panel above threshold. An increase in the correlation is evident.

ral coherence, quantised vortices, superfluid behaviour4 , are equivalent or strictly

2.2 A Mathematical Model

The general form of (2.28) is Schrödinger-like, i~ Bt ψ “ Eψ, where ψ is a

density ρ and the velocity u of the condensate,

A stationary solution of (2.28) has the form

It is sometimes convenient to recast equation (2.32) in terms of the physical

Bt ρ ` ∇ ¨ pρuq ´ 2ηρ Bt φ “ pα ´ σρq ρ, (2.34)

For a stationary system, Bt ρ “ 0, 2Bt φ “ ´µ and we obtain

∇ ¨ pρuq “ pα ´ σρ ´ ηµqρ, (2.36)

2.2.1 Derivation of the Equation

Polariton condensates are a peculiar kind of Bose-Einstein condensates, so let us

As we have already mentioned, (2.40) describes equilibrium condensates at T ! Tc ,

Bt ψ “ pΓ ´ κ|ψ|2 qψ, (2.42)

with Γ, κ ą 0. Multiplying (2.42) by ψ ˚ and adding the Hermitian conjugate we

Fast Reservoir Relaxation

Another possibility is to start with a coupled system of equations describing the

In (2.45) γ is the decay rate of condensed polaritons, nR is the number density of

with a constant density nR given by

Substituting (2.47) in (2.45) we obtain the equation

2.2.2 Values of the Parameters