Spontaneous emission enhancement of a single molecule by a double-sphere nanoantenna across an interface

We report on two orders of magnitude reduction in the fluorescence lifetime when a single molecule placed in a thin film is surrounded by two gold nanospheres across the film interface. By attaching one of the gold particles to the end of a glass fiber tip, we could control the modification of the molecular fluorescence at will. We find a good agreement between our experimental data and the outcome of numerical calculations

Coupling of plasmonic nanoparticles to their environments in the context of van der Waals-Casimir interactions

We present experiments in which the interaction of a single gold nanoparticle with glass substrates or with another gold particle can be tuned by in-situ control of their separations using scanning probe technology. We record the plasmon resonances of the coupled systems as a function of the polarization of the incident field and the particle position. The distinct spectral changes of the scattered light from the particle pair are in good agreement with the outcome of finite difference time-domain (FDTD) calculations. We believe our experimental technique holds promise for the investigation of the van der Waals-Casimir type interactions between nanoscopic neutral bodies.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figure

Plasmonic nanoparticle monomers and dimers: From nano-antennas to chiral metamaterials

We review the basic physics behind light interaction with plasmonic nanoparticles. The theoretical foundations of light scattering on one metallic particle (a plasmonic monomer) and two interacting particles (a plasmonic dimer) are systematically investigated. Expressions for effective particle susceptibility (polarizability) are derived, and applications of these results to plasmonic nanoantennas are outlined. In the long-wavelength limit, the effective macroscopic parameters of an array of plasmonic dimers are calculated. These parameters are attributable to an effective medium corresponding to a dilute arrangement of nanoparticles, i.e., a metamaterial where plasmonic monomers or dimers have the function of "meta-atoms". It is shown that planar dimers consisting of rod-like particles generally possess elliptical dichroism and function as atoms for planar chiral metamaterials. The fabricational simplicity of the proposed rod-dimer geometry can be used in the design of more cost-effective chiral metamaterials in the optical domain.Comment: submitted to Appl. Phys.

Religious freedom in context: A comparison between Belarus and Romania

This chapter is an attempt to contribute the comparative study of religious freedom and Eastern Orthodoxy in sociological perspective. By examining the socio-legal similarities and differences in religious freedom governance in Orthodox Belarus and Romania and patterns of religious freedom views among adolescents (16\u201319 years old) in Belarus (N = 651) and Romania (N = 589), the authors argue that the official religious freedom policies had resemblance with religious freedom views of a young generation. The current empirical study showed a greater level of skepticism towards religious freedom entitlements expressed by young people in Belarus, compared to Romania. For both countries, this study indicated differences between non-religious, religious majority, and religious minorities groups in regard to \u2018religious freedom entitlements,\u2019 but not in regard to \u2018religious freedom governance.\u2019 Considering the similarities in religious freedom views regarding the predictive power of individual religiosity together with the traditional role of religion linking national and spiritual elements and the absence of predictive effect by religious pluralism, we problematize the concept of religious freedom for the further analysis of Orthodoxy worldwide. Based on empirical evidence, we discuss how sociology of religious freedom advances the study of Orthodox tradition and modernization nexus and better understanding of relationship between individual beliefs and institutional conditions that affect religious freedom advancement in Eastern European Orthodox countries