Coupled Excitations in Nanoparticle Chains
My doctoral research explored the fundamental theory of wave-like energy transport in one-dimensional chains of nanoparticles. This work focused on understanding collective excitations—where individual nanoparticles act in concert—to guide and manipulate energy at the nanoscale.
The research investigated two main types of excitations:
Plasmons: I developed models for plasmonic waves, which are collective oscillations of electrons, on chains of metallic nanoparticles. This work included analyzing the effects of embedding the chain in a liquid-crystalline host and applying a magnetic field, which led to the prediction of Faraday rotation and one-way wave propagation.
Magnons: I extended this framework to magnetic systems, modeling spin waves (magnons) on chains of Yttrium Iron Garnet (YIG) particles. For this system, I calculated the dispersion relations, Faraday rotation, and power transmission characteristics.
This foundational research provides a theoretical basis for designing novel nanoscale waveguides and other components for nanophotonic and magnonic circuits.