TOPOLOGICAL NANOPHOTONICS

ONE OF THE ULTIMATE GOALS OF MODERN SCIENCE IS THE PRECISE CONTROL OF PHOTONS AT THE NANOSCALE LEVEL. THE AIM OF THIS PROJECT IS TO PUSH THE BOUNDARY OF TOPOLOGICAL PHOTONICS TO THE NANOSCALE LEVEL THANKS TO THE STRONG CONFINEMENT PROVIDED BY PLASMONIC PHYSICS. NANO-TOPO IS AN AMBITIOUS PROJECT THAT WILL MAKE USE OF ¿TOPOLOGY¿ IN SOME IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF NANOPHOTONICS IN ORDER TO OBTAIN NEW PHENOMENA AT THE NANOSCALE. MORE IN DETAIL, WITH THIS PROPOSAL WE WANT TO ADDRESS THE FOLLOWING THREE INTERCONNECTED POINTS: 1. PROTECTED ELECTROMAGNETIC ¿HOTSPOTS¿. COMBINATION OF PLASMONIC SYSTEMS WITH CONCEPTS FROM TOPOLOGICAL INSULATORS (2016 NOBEL PRIZE IN PHYSICS), WHICH EXHIBIT STATES WITH PROTECTION FROM DEFECTS AND DISORDER. MAPPING THE SU, SCHRIEFFER AND HEEGER (SSH) MODEL, WE WANT TO STUDY 1D AND 2D PLASMONIC TOPOLOGICAL INSULATORS THAT FEATURE HOTSPOTS WITH REMARKABLE RESISTANCE TO DISORDER. 2. TUNABLE LASING FROM A SINGLE TOPOLOGICAL INSULATOR NANOPARTICLE. WE WANT TO ENGINEER THE DISCRETE ENERGETIC LEVELS OF TOPOLOGICAL NANOPARTICLES IN ORDER TO OBTAIN LASING WHEN PUMPED WITH LIGHT. SUCH SYSTEM WILL ENJOY AN UNPRECEDENTED DEGREE OF TUNING JUST ACTING ON SHAPE, DIMENSION AND FERMI ENERGY OF THE TOPOLOGICAL NANOPARTICLE. 3. PLASMONIC DETECTION OF MAGNETO-ELECTRIC TOPOLOGICAL PARAMETERS. WE WANT TO USE PLASMONIC HIGH SENSITIVITY TO BACKGROUND VARIATIONS IN ORDER TO MEASURE IMPORTANT PARAMETERS IN THE TOPOLOGICAL INSULATOR. NAMELY, WE WANT TO STUDY AND DESCRIBE PLASMONIC SYSTEMS AND TO MEASURE THE ¿THETA¿ TERM IN THE ELECTROMAGNETIC LAGRANGIAN (ZHANG THEORY), WHICH HAS A FORM ANALOGOUS TO THE THEORY OF AXION ELECTRODYNAMICS THAT HAS BEEN STUDIED IN PARTICLE PHYSICS. WE WOULD LIKE TO REMARK, THAT WHILE NANO-TOPO IS A THEORETICAL PROJECT, WE WILL ALSO INVOLVE INTERNATIONAL LEADING EXPERIMENTAL NANOPHOTONICS GROUPS IN ORDER TO REALIZE THESE IDEAS, AS INCLUDED IN THE WORKING TEAM.