Spin-orbital effect on the polariton state in traps

To what extent can photonic or polaritonic systems model electron spin-dependent phenomena? Even in the single-particle description the main limitation comes from the time-reversal symmetry operation, which is different for electrons and polaritons. This paper analyzes the qualitative differences between the trapped polariton states in the presence of transverse-electric--transverse-magnetic splitting as compared to the trapped electron states in the presence of Rashba spin-orbit coupling. It is shown that the coupling of orbital and polarization (spin) degrees of freedom is enhanced in polariton rings, leading to the formation of a ground state with a polarization-vortex structure.