Quantum hydrodynamics of a single particle

Abstract

Semiconductor devices are strong competitors in the race for the development of quantum com-putational systems. In this work, we interface two semiconductor building blocks of different di-mensionality and with complementary properties: (1) a quantum dot hosting a single exciton andacting as a nearly ideal single-photon emitter and (2) a quantum well in a 2D microcavity sustain-ing polaritons, which are known for their strong interactions and unique hydrodynamics propertiesincluding ultrafast real-time monitoring of their propagation and phase-mapping. In the presentexperiment we can thus observe how the injected single particles propagate and evolve inside themicrocavity, giving rise to hydrodynamics features typical of macroscopic systems despite their in-trinsic genuine quantum nature. In the presence of a structural defect, we observe the celebratedquantum interference of a single particle that produces fringes reminiscent of a wave propagation.While this behaviour could be theoretically expected, our imaging of such an interference pattern,together with a measurement of antibunching, constitutes the first demonstration of spatial mappingof the self-interference of a single quantum particle hitting an obstacle.