Anomaly in the relaxation dynamics close to the surface plasmon resonance

We propose an explanation for the anomalous behaviour observed in the relaxation dynamics of the differential optical transmission of noble-metal nanoparticles. Using the temperature dependences of the position and the width of the surface plasmon resonance, we obtain a strong frequency dependence in the time evolution of the transmission close to the resonance. In particular, our approach accounts for the slowdown found below the plasmon frequency. This interpretation is independent of the presence of a nearby interband transition which has been invoked previously. We therefore argue that the anomaly should also appear for alkaline nanoparticles.Comment: version published in EP

Friction of the surface plasmon by high-energy particle-hole pairs: Are memory effects important?

We show that the dynamics of the surface plasmon in metallic nanoparticles damped by its interaction with particle-hole excitations can be modelled by a single degree of freedom coupled to an environment. In this approach, the fast decrease of the dipole matrix elements that couple the plasmon to particle-hole pairs with the energy of the excitation allows a separation of the Hilbert space into low- and high-energy subspaces at a characteristic energy that we estimate. A picture of the spectrum consisting of a collective excitation built from low-energy excitations which interacts with high-energy particle-hole states can be formalised. The high-energy excitations yield an approximate description of a dissipative environment (or "bath") within a finite confined system. Estimates for the relevant timescales establish the Markovian character of the bath dynamics with respect to the surface plasmon evolution for nanoparticles with a radius larger than about 1 nm.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure; see also cond-mat/070372

Parametric resonance and spin-charge separation in 1D fermionic systems

We show that the periodic modulation of the Hamiltonian parameters for 1D correlated fermionic systems can be used to parametrically amplify their bosonic collective modes. Treating the problem within the Luttinger liquid picture, we show how charge and spin density waves with different momenta are simultaneously amplified. We discuss the implementation of our predictions for cold atoms in 1D modulated optical lattices, showing that the fermionic momentum distribution directly provides a clear signature of spin-charge separation.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, published versio

Radiative frequency shifts in nanoplasmonic dimers

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from APS via the DOI in this record.We study the effect of the electromagnetic environment on the resonance frequency of plasmonic excitations in dimers of interacting metallic nanoparticles. The coupling between plasmons and vacuum electromagnetic fluctuations induces a shift in the resonance frequencies, analogous to the Lamb shift in atomic physics, which is usually not measurable in an isolated nanoparticle. In contrast, we show that this shift leads to sizeable corrections to the level splitting induced by dipolar interactions in nanoparticle dimers. The ratio between the level splitting for the longitudinal and transverse hybridized modes takes a universal form dependent only on the interparticle distance and thus is highly insensitive to the precise fabrication details of the two nanoparticles. We discuss the possibility to successfully perform the proposed measurement using state-of-the-art nanoplasmonic architectures.This work was partially funded by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (Project ANR-14-CE26-0005 Q-MetaMat), the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique through the Projet International de Cooperation Scientifique program (Contract Nr. 6384 APAG), the Leverhulme Trust (Research Project Grant RPG-2015-101), and the Royal Society (International Exchange Grant Nr. IE140367, Newton Mobility Grants 2016/R1 UK-Brazil, and Theo Murphy Award TM160190)

Parametric amplification of magnetoplasmons in semiconductor quantum dots

We show that the magnetoplasmon collective modes in quasi-two-dimensional semiconductor quantum dots can be parametrically amplified by periodically modulating the magnetic field perpendicular to the nanostructure. The two magnetoplasmon modes are excited and amplified simultaneously, leading to an exponential growth of the number of bosonic excitations in the system. We further demonstrate that damping mechanisms as well as anharmonicities in the confinement of the quantum dot lead to a saturation of the parametric amplification. This work constitutes a first step towards parametric amplification of collective modes in many-body fermionic systems beyond one dimension.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures; published versio

A Study of the Cyclotron Gas-Stopping Concept for the Production of Rare Isotope Beams

The proposed cyclotron gas-stopping scheme for the efficient thermalization of intense rare isotope beams is examined. Simulations expand on previous studies and expose many complications of such an apparatus arising from physical effects not accounted for properly in previous work. The previously proposed cyclotron gas-stopper geometry is found to have a near null efficiency, but extended simulations suggest that a device with a much larger pole gap could achieve a stopping efficiency approaching roughly 90% and at least a 10 times larger acceptance. However, some of the advantages that were incorrectly predicted in previous simulations for high intensity operation of this device are compromised.Comment: Accepted for publication in Nuclear Inst. and Methods in Physics Research,

The liminality of trajectory shifts in institutional entrepreneurship

In this paper, we develop a process model of trajectory shifts in institutional entrepreneurship. We focus on the liminal periods experienced by institutional entrepreneurs when they, unlike the rest of the organization, recognize limits in the present and seek to shift a familiar past into an unfamiliar and uncertain future. Such periods involve a situation where the new possible future, not yet fully formed, exists side-by-side with established innovation trajectories. Trajectory shifts are moments of truth for institutional entrepreneurs, but little is known about the underlying mechanisms of how entrepreneurs reflectively deal with liminality to conceive and bring forth new innovation trajectories. Our in-depth case study research at CarCorp traces three such mechanisms (reflective dissension, imaginative projection, and eliminatory exploration) and builds the basis for understanding the liminality of trajectory shifts. The paper offers theoretical implications for the institutional entrepreneurship literature

Topological collective plasmons in bipartite chains of metallic nanoparticles

This is the final version. Available from the American Physical Society via the DOI in this record. We study a bipartite linear chain constituted by spherical metallic nanoparticles, where each nanoparticle supports a localized surface plasmon. The near-field dipolar interaction between the localized surface plasmons gives rise to collective plasmons, which are extended over the whole nanoparticle array. We derive analytically the spectrum and the eigenstates of the collective plasmonic excitations. At the edge of the Brillouin zone, the spectrum is of a pseudorelativistic nature similar to that present in the electronic band structure of polyacetylene. We find the effective Dirac Hamiltonian for the collective plasmons and show that the corresponding spinor eigenstates represent one-dimensional Dirac-like massive bosonic excitations. Therefore, the plasmonic lattice exhibits similar effects to those found for electrons in one-dimensional Dirac materials, such as the ability for transmission with highly suppressed backscattering due to Klein tunneling. We also show that the system is governed by a nontrivial Zak phase, which predicts the manifestation of edge states in the chain. When two dimerized chains with different topological phases are connected, we find the appearance of the bosonic version of a Jackiw-Rebbi midgap state. We further investigate the radiative and nonradiative lifetimes of the collective plasmonic excitations and comment on the challenges for experimental realization of the topological effects found theoretically.CNRSAN

Plasmonic modes in cylindrical nanoparticles and dimers

This is the final version. Available on open access from the Royal Society via the DOI in this record.We present analytical expressions for the resonance frequencies of the plasmonic modes hosted in a cylindrical nanoparticle within the quasi-static approximation. Our theoretical model gives us access to both the longitudinally and transversally polarized dipolar modes for a metallic cylinder with an arbitrary aspect ratio, which allows us to capture the physics of both plasmonic nanodisks and nanowires. We also calculate quantum mechanical corrections to these resonance frequencies due to the spill-out effect, which is of relevance for cylinders with nanometric dimensions. We go on to consider the coupling of localized surface plasmons in a dimer of cylindrical nanoparticles, which leads to collective plasmonic excitations. We extend our theoretical formalism to construct an analytical model of the dimer, describing the evolution with the inter-nanoparticle separation of the resultant bright and dark collective modes. We comment on the renormalization of the coupled mode frequencies due to the spill-out effect, and discuss some methods of experimental detection.Agence Nationale de la RechercheRoyal SocietyJuan de la Cierva programme (MINECO, Spain)University of Strasbourg IdEx programm