Self-hybridization within non-Hermitian localized plasmonic systems

The orthogonal eigenmodes are well-defined solutions of Hermitian equations describing many physical situations from quantum mechanics to acoustics. However, a large variety of non-Hermitian problems, including gravitational waves close to black holes or leaky electromagnetic cavities, require the u...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature physics 2018-04, Vol.14 (4), p.360-364
Main Authors: Lourenço-Martins, Hugo, Das, Pabitra, Tizei, Luiz H. G., Weil, Raphaël, Kociak, Mathieu
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
639/624/400/1021
639/766/483/640
639/925/927/1021
Acoustics
Atomic
Broken symmetry
Classical and Continuum Physics
Complex Systems
Condensed Matter Physics
Gravitational waves
Hybridization
Letter
Mathematical and Computational Physics
Molecular
Optical and Plasma Physics
Physics
Physics and Astronomy
Quantum mechanics
Theoretical
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The orthogonal eigenmodes are well-defined solutions of Hermitian equations describing many physical situations from quantum mechanics to acoustics. However, a large variety of non-Hermitian problems, including gravitational waves close to black holes or leaky electromagnetic cavities, require the use of a bi-orthogonal eigenbasis with consequences challenging our physical understanding 1 – 4 . The need to compensate for energy losses made the few successful attempts 5 – 8 to experimentally probe non-Hermiticity extremely complicated. We overcome this problem by considering localized plasmonic systems. As the non-Hermiticity in these systems does not stem from temporal invariance breaking but from spatial symmetry breaking, its consequences can be observed more easily. We report on the theoretical and experimental evidence for non-Hermiticity-induced strong coupling between surface plasmon modes of different orders within silver nanodaggers. The symmetry conditions for triggering this counter-intuitive self-hybridization phenomenon are provided. Similar observable effects are expected to exist in any system exhibiting bi-orthogonal eigenmodes. A combined theoretical and experimental study of plasmonic nanostructures reveals a self-hybridization effect that arises from the non-Hermitian eigenmodes of localized surface plasmons.
ISSN:1745-2473
1745-2481
1476-4636
DOI:10.1038/s41567-017-0023-6