Transient optical parametric oscillations in resonantly pumped multistable cavity polariton condensates

Transitional processes accompanying switches between steady states in multistable cavity polariton systems are studied experimentally in a low-symmetry high-Q microcavity under resonant optical excitation at normal incidence. We show that the establishment of a high-energy polariton state is influenced by an optical parametric oscillation. Therefore, the emission spectrum reveals the energy-separated signal-idler pairs in both spin components. Accordingly, the time dependencies of the polariton emission exhibit oscillations whose periods correspond to the spectral positions of the scattered states. Thus, the sharp transitions between the steady states of a no-equilibrium polariton condensate enable one to visualize the near-condensate eigenmodes and explore their spectral and spin properties depending on the condensate amplitude and average spin.