Blowup dynamics of coherently driven polariton condensates: Experiment

We report an experimental verification of the recent prediction that sharp transitions between steady states in multistable cavity-polariton systems are mediated by intermode parametric scattering that triggers the accumulation of energy and, hence, lowers the threshold at the cost of extending the transition latency period [S. S. Gavrilov, Phys. Rev. B 90, 205303 (2014)]. The time-resolved measurements are performed using a high-Q GaAs microcavity pumped slightly above the lower polariton level at normal incidence.