Nanoscale systems for generating various forms of light

For decades, researchers believed that the quantum statistical properties of bosons are preserved in plasmonic systems and therefore will not create a different form of light.

This rapidly growing area of ​​research focuses on the quantum properties of light and its interaction with matter at the nanoscale. Stimulated by experimental work on the possibility of preserving unclassical correlations in light-matter interactions mediated by the scattering of photons and plasmons, it was speculated that similar dynamics underlie the conservation of quantum fluctuations that define nature light sources. The possibility of using a nanoscale system to create exotic forms of light could pave the way for next-generation quantum devices. It could also constitute a new platform to explore new quantum phenomena.

In the new findings published in Nature Communication, researchers from Louisiana State University and four partner universities presented a discovery that alters a quantum plasmonics paradigm by demonstrating the potential of metallic nanostructures to produce different forms of light.

Their article, “Observation of the Modification of Quantum Statistics of Plasmonic Systems”, written by collaborators from the University of Alabama at Huntsville, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Unidad Iztapalapa, demonstrates that statistics Multiparticle quantum systems are not always conserved in plasmonic platforms. It also describes the first observation of modified quantum statistics.

The lead authors, postdoctoral researcher LSU Chenglong You and graduate student LSU Mingyuan Hong, show that optical near fields provide additional scattering paths that can induce complex multiparticulate interactions.

“Our results unveil the possibility of using multiparticulate scattering to perform exquisite control of quantum plasmon systems,” You said. “This result reorients an old paradigm in the field of quantum plasmonics where the fundamental physics uncovered in our discovery will provide a better understanding of the quantum properties of plasmonic systems and will unveil new ways to perform the control of multiparticulate quantum systems.”

The research carried out by LSU’s Quantum Photonics Experimental Group that resulted in these new discoveries was carried out in the quantum photonics laboratory of Assistant Professor Omar Magaña-Loaiza.

“We designed metal nanostructures, made of gold, to produce different types of light,” Hong said. “Our nanoscale platform harnesses dissipative near plasmonic fields to induce and control complex interactions in multi-body photon systems. This capability allows us to control quantum fluctuations in multiphoton systems at will.”

The possibility of designing light with different quantum mechanical properties has huge implications for multiple quantum technologies.

“For example, our platform helps reduce quantum fluctuations in multiphoton systems to increase the sensitivity of quantum detection protocols,” said Magaña-Loaiza. “In our lab, we will harness this exquisite degree of control to develop quantum simulations of light transport. This will enable the eventual design of better and more efficient solar cells.”