Quantum nonlinear dynamics of polaritons in photonic microstructures

Recent theoretical studies of quantum nonlinear dynamics of laser-driven semiconductor microcavities in presence of a lateral photonic potential are reviewed. The following effects are discussed: (i) polariton parametric interactions can be tailored in photonic microstructures (e.g., photonic wires) to generate peculiar entangled states, which are efficiently coupled to the extra-cavity field and which are conveniently protected from the excitonic reservoir, (ii) the peculiar polariton superfluid behavior can be probed through the angle-resolved resonant Rayleigh scattering produced by point defects, (iii) polaritonic "circuits" can be designed to produce efficiently non-classical states of light as output.