No Arabic abstract
We analyze the electromagnetic field near a plane interface between a conductive and a dielectric media, under conditions supporting surface plasmon-polariton (SPP) propagation. The conductive medium is described by the hydrodynamic electron-gas model that enables a consistent analysis of the field-induced variations of the electron density and velocity at the interface and its nearest vicinity. The distributions of electromagnetic dynamical characteristics: energy, energy flow, spin and momentum are calculated analytically and illustrated numerically, employing silver-vacuum interface as an example. A set of the field and material contributions to the energy, spin and momentum are explicitly identified and classified with respect to their physical origins and properties, and the orbital (canonical) and spin (Belinfante) momentum constituents are separately examined. In this context, a procedure for the spin-orbital momentum decomposition in the presence of free charges is proposed and substantiated. The microscopic results agree with the known phenomenological data but additionally show specific nanoscale structures in the near-interface behavior of the SPP energy and momentum, which can be deliberately created, controlled and used in nanotechnology applications.
We study the energy and momentum of the surface plasmon-polariton (SPP) excited in a symmetric 3-layer insulator-metal-insulator structure, which is known to support the symmetric (S) mode with the negative group velocity as well as the antisymmetric (AS) mode with only positive energy flow. The electric and magnetic field vectors are calculated via both the phenomenological and the microscopic approach; the latter involves the hydrodynamic model accounting for the quantum statistical effects for the electron gas in metal. Explicit representation for the energy and momentum constituents in the dielectric and in the metal film are obtained, and the wavenumber dependences of the energy and momentum contributions for the whole SPP are analyzed numerically. The various energy and momentum constituents are classified with respect to their origin: field or material, and the physical nature: orbital (canonical) and spin (Belinfante) momentum contributions. The pictures characteristic for the S and AS modes are systematically compared. The results can be useful for the studies and applications of the SPP-induced thin-film effects, in particular, for the charge and spin dynamics in thin-film plasmonic systems.
Following to the recently published approach [Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 073901 (2017); New J. Phys., 123014 (2017)], we refine and accomplish the general scheme for the unified description of the momentum and angular momentum in complex media. The equations for the canonical (orbital) and spin linear momenta, orbital and spin angular momenta in a lossless inhomogeneous dispersive medium are presented in the compact form analogous to the Brillouins relation for the energy. The results are applied to the surface plasmon-polariton (SPP) field, and the microscopic calculations support the phenomenological expectations. The refined general scheme correctly describes the unusual SPP properties (transverse spin, magnetization momentum) and additionally predicts the singular momentum contribution sharply localized at the metal-dielectric interface, which is confirmed by the microscopic analysis. The results can be useful in optical systems employing the structured light, especially for microoptics, plasmophotonics, optical sorting and micromanipulation.
We consider the electromagnetic field near an interface between two media with arbitrary real frequency-dependent permittivities and permeabilities, under conditions supporting the surface plasmon-polariton (SPP) propagation. The dispersion of the electric and magnetic properties is taken into account based on the recent approach for description of the spin and momentum of electromagnetic field in complex media [Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 073901 (2017); New J. Phys., 19, 123014 (2017)]. It involves the Minkowski momentum decomposition into the spin and orbital parts with the dispersion-modified permittivities and permeabilities. Explicit expressions are derived for spatial densities of the energy, energy flow, spin and orbital momenta and angular momenta of the transverse-magnetic (TM) SPP field. They are free from non-physical singularities; the only singular contribution describes a strictly localized surface part of the spin momentum that can be associated with the magnetization current in the conductive part of the SPP-supporting structure. On this ground, a phenomenological theory of the SPP-induced magnetization (predicted earlier based on the simplified microscopic approach) is outlined. Possible modifications and generalizations, including the transverse-electric (TE) SPP waves, are discussed.
We demonstrate both analytically and numerically the existence of optical pulling forces acting on particles located near plasmonic interfaces. Two main factors contribute to the appearance of this negative reaction force. The interference between the incident and reflected waves induces a rotating dipole with an asymmetric scattering pattern while the directional excitation of surface plasmon polaritons (SPP) enhances the linear momentum of scattered light. The strongly asymmetric SPP excitation is determined by spin-orbit coupling of the rotating dipole and surface plasmon polariton. As a result of the total momentum conservation, the force acting on the particle points in a direction opposite to the incident wave propagation. We derive analytical expressions for the force acting on a dipolar particles placed in the proximity of plasmonic surfaces. Analytical expressions for this pulling force are derived within the dipole approximation and are in excellent agreement with results of electromagnetic numerical calculations. The forces acting on larger particles are analyzed numerically, beyond the dipole approximation.
We consider a generation of two-particle quantum states in the process of spontaneous parametric down-conversion of light by a dielectric nanoparticle with $chi^{(2)}$ response. As a particular example, we study the generation of surface plasmon-polariton pairs with a ${rm GaAs}$ nanoparticle located at the silver-air interface. We show that for certain excitation geometries, ${rm N00N}$-states of surface plasmon-polariton pairs could be obtained. The effect can be physically interpreted as a result of quantum interference between pairs of induced sources, each emitting either signal or idler plasmon. We then relate the resulting ${rm N00N}$-pattern to the general symmetry properties of dyadic Greens function of a dipole emitter exciting surface waves. It renders the considered effect as a general way towards a robust generation of ${rm N00N}$-states of surface waves using spontaneous parametric down-conversion in $chi^{(2)}$ nanoparticles.