  Seeing macroscopic quantum states directly remains an elusive goal. Particles
with boson symmetry can condense into such quantum fluids producing rich
physical phenomena as well as proven potential for interferometric devices
[1-10]. However direct imaging of such quantum states is only fleetingly
possible in high-vacuum ultracold atomic condensates, and not in
superconductors. Recent condensation of solid state polariton quasiparticles,
built from mixing semiconductor excitons with microcavity photons, offers
monolithic devices capable of supporting room temperature quantum states
[11-14] that exhibit superfluid behaviour [15,16]. Here we use microcavities on
a semiconductor chip supporting two-dimensional polariton condensates to
directly visualise the formation of a spontaneously oscillating quantum fluid.
This system is created on the fly by injecting polaritons at two or more
spatially-separated pump spots. Although oscillating at tuneable THz-scale
frequencies, a simple optical microscope can be used to directly image their
stable archetypal quantum oscillator wavefunctions in real space. The
self-repulsion of polaritons provides a solid state quasiparticle that is so
nonlinear as to modify its own potential. Interference in time and space
reveals the condensate wavepackets arise from non-equilibrium solitons. Control
of such polariton condensate wavepackets demonstrates great potential for
integrated semiconductor-based condensate devices.
