158 research outputs found

    Interaction of atomic systems with quantum vacuum beyond electric dipole approximation

    Get PDF
    The photonic environment can significantly influence emission properties and interactions among atomic systems. In such scenarios, frequently the electric dipole approximation is assumed that is justified as long as the spatial extent of the atomic system is negligible compared to the spatial variations of the field. While this holds true for many canonical systems, it ceases to be applicable for more contemporary nanophotonic structures. To go beyond the electric dipole approximation, we propose and develop in this article an analytical framework to describe the impact of the photonic environment on emission and interaction properties of atomic systems beyond the electric dipole approximation. Particularly, we retain explicitly magnetic dipolar and electric quadrupolar contributions to the light-matter interactions. We exploit a field quantization scheme based on electromagnetic Green’s tensors, suited for dispersive materials. We obtain expressions for spontaneous emission rate, Lamb shift, multipole-multipole shift and superradiance rate, all being modified with dispersive environment. The considered influence could be substantial for suitably tailored nanostructured photonic environments, as demonstrated exemplarily

    Energy-Based Plasmonicity Index to Characterize Optical Resonances in Nanostructures

    Get PDF
    Resonances sustained by plasmonic nanoparticles provide extreme electric field confinement and enhancement into the deep subwavelength domain for a plethora of applications. Recent progress in nanofabrication made it even possible to tailor the properties of nanoparticles consisting of only a few hundred atoms. These nanoparticles support both single-particle-like resonances and collective plasmonic charge density oscillations. Prototypical systems sustaining both features are graphene nanoantennas. In pushing the frontier of nanoscience, traditional identification, and classification of such resonances is at stake again. We show that in such nanostructures, the concerted electron cloud oscillation in real space does not necessarily come along with collective dynamics of conduction band electrons in energy space. This unveils an urgent need for a discussion of how a plasmon in nanostructures should be defined. Here, we propose to define it relying on energy space dynamics. The unambiguous identification of the plasmonic nature of a resonance is crucial to find out whether desirable plasmon-assisted features, such as frequency conversion processes, can be expected from a resonance. We elaborate an energy-based figure of merit that classifies the nature of resonances in nanostructures, motivated by tight binding simulations with a toy model consisting of a linear chain of atoms. We apply afterward the proposed figure of merit to a doped hexagonal graphene nanoantenna, which is known to support plasmons in the near infrared and single-particle-like transitions in the visible

    Revising quantum optical phenomena in adatoms coupled to graphene nanoantennas

    Get PDF
    Graphene flakes acting as photonic nanoantennas may sustain strong electromagnetic field localization and enhancement. To exploit the field enhancement, quantum emitters such as atoms or molecules should be positioned in such close proximity to the flake that electron tunneling might influence the optical and electronic properties of the system. However, tunneling is usually not considered if the optical coupling mechanism between quantum emitters and nanoantennas is at focus. This work presents a framework for describing the electron dynamics in hybrid systems consisting of graphene nanoflakes coupled both electronically and optically to adatoms and subject to external illumination. Our framework combines the single-particle tight-binding approach with a nonlinear master equation formalism that captures both optical and electronic interactions. We apply the framework to demonstrate the impact of electron tunneling between the adatom and the flake on emblematic quantum optical phenomena: degradation of coherent Rabi oscillations and quenching of Purcell spontaneous emission enhancement in two-level adatoms in proximity of triangular graphene nanoflakes

    From single-particle-like to interaction-mediated plasmonic resonances in graphene nanoantennas

    Full text link
    Plasmonic nanostructures attract tremendous attention as they confine electromagnetic fields well below the diffraction limit while simultaneously sustaining extreme local field enhancements. To fully exploit these properties, the identification and classification of resonances in such nanostructures is crucial. Recently, a novel figure of merit for resonance classification has been proposed 1 and its applicability was demonstrated mostly to toy model systems. This novel measure, the energy-based plasmonicity index (EPI), characterizes the nature of resonances in molecular nanostructures. The EPI distinguishes between either a single-particle-like or a plasmonic nature of resonances based on the energy space coherence dynamics of the excitation. To advance the further development of this newly established measure, we present here its exemplary application to characterize the resonances of graphene nanoantennas. In particular, we focus on resonances in a doped nanoantenna. The structure is of interest, as a consideration of the electron dynamics in real space might suggest a plasmonic nature of selected resonances in the low doping limit but our analysis reveals the opposite. We find that in the undoped and moderately doped nanoantenna, the EPI classifies all emerging resonances as predominantly single-particle-like and only after doping the structure heavily, the EPI observes plasmonic response.Comment: The following article has been submitted to the Journal of Applied Physic

    Statement by a Working Group conceived by the Polish National Consultants in Cardiology and Neurology addressing the use of implantable cardiac monitors in patients after ischaemic embolic stroke of undetermined source

    Get PDF
    Introduction. Stroke remains one of the main causes of death and the most common cause of long-term disability in adults. Embolic strokes of undetermined source (ESUS) amount to a significant proportion of all ischaemic strokes. Detection of atrial fibrillation (AF) in this group of patients would allow for a major therapeutic decision to switch from antiplatelets to oral anticoagulants and therefore significantly reduce the risk of recurrence. State of the Art. Current technology allows long-term continuous ECG monitoring with different systems, including implantable cardiac monitors (ICM). However, in Poland lack of reimbursement does not allow their use in everyday clinical practice. Clinical Implications. This is a statement by a Working Group conceived by the Polish National Consultants in Cardiology and Neurology addressing the use of ICM in patients after ischaemic embolic strokes of undetermined source. The aim was to develop reasonable and comprehensive guidance on how to select and manage candidates for ICM in order to obtain the maximum benefit for Polish public health. Future Directions. This expert opinion is not intended as a guideline but it provides advice as to how to optimise the potential use of ICM in patients after ESUS in the Polish setting

    Żywienie dojelitowe i pozajelitowe w udarze mózgu — stanowisko Grupy Ekspertów Sekcji Chorób Naczyniowych Polskiego Towarzystwa Neurologicznego

    Get PDF
    U chorych po udarze mózgu bardzo często występują zaburzenia przyjmowania, wchłaniania i metabolizowania pokarmów. Niedożywienie w znaczącym stopniu zwiększa ryzyko wstąpienia powikłań oraz wpływa na czas hospitalizacji, skuteczność rehabilitacji i jakość życia. W pracy przedstawiono stanowisko Grupy Ekspertów powołanej z inicjatywy Sekcji Chorób Naczyniowych Polskiego Towarzystwa Neurologicznego dotyczące żywienia dojelitowego i pozajelitowego po udarze mózgu

    A novel MMP12 locus is associated with large artery atherosclerotic stroke using a genome-wide age-at-onset informed approach.

    Get PDF
    Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have begun to identify the common genetic component to ischaemic stroke (IS). However, IS has considerable phenotypic heterogeneity. Where clinical covariates explain a large fraction of disease risk, covariate informed designs can increase power to detect associations. As prevalence rates in IS are markedly affected by age, and younger onset cases may have higher genetic predisposition, we investigated whether an age-at-onset informed approach could detect novel associations with IS and its subtypes; cardioembolic (CE), large artery atherosclerosis (LAA) and small vessel disease (SVD) in 6,778 cases of European ancestry and 12,095 ancestry-matched controls. Regression analysis to identify SNP associations was performed on posterior liabilities after conditioning on age-at-onset and affection status. We sought further evidence of an association with LAA in 1,881 cases and 50,817 controls, and examined mRNA expression levels of the nearby genes in atherosclerotic carotid artery plaques. Secondly, we performed permutation analyses to evaluate the extent to which age-at-onset informed analysis improves significance for novel loci. We identified a novel association with an MMP12 locus in LAA (rs660599; p = 2.5×10⁻⁷), with independent replication in a second population (p = 0.0048, OR(95% CI) = 1.18(1.05-1.32); meta-analysis p = 2.6×10⁻⁸). The nearby gene, MMP12, was significantly overexpressed in carotid plaques compared to atherosclerosis-free control arteries (p = 1.2×10⁻¹⁵; fold change = 335.6). Permutation analyses demonstrated improved significance for associations when accounting for age-at-onset in all four stroke phenotypes (p<0.001). Our results show that a covariate-informed design, by adjusting for age-at-onset of stroke, can detect variants not identified by conventional GWAS
    corecore