Numerical studies of the interaction of an atomic sample with the electromagnetic field in two dimensions

TL;DR

This paper numerically investigates how electromagnetic fields interact with multi-level atomic samples in two dimensions, revealing collective effects, resonant modes, and potential applications in nanostructures.

Contribution

It introduces a self-consistent numerical method for solving Maxwell-Liouville equations for complex geometries, highlighting collective phenomena in nanoscale atomic clusters.

Findings

Identification of two resonant modes in atomic clusters

Significant impact of collective effects and dephasing

Optical response analysis of core-shell nanostructures

Abstract

We consider the interaction of electromagnetic radiation of arbitrary polarization with multi-level atoms in a self-consistent manner, taking into account both spatial and temporal dependencies of local fields. This is done by numerically solving the corresponding system of coupled Maxwell-Liouville equations for various geometries. In particular, we scrutinize linear optical properties of nanoscale atomic clusters, demonstrating the significant role played by collective effects and dephasing. It is shown that subwavelength atomic clusters exhibit two resonant modes, one of which is localized slightly below the atomic transition frequency of an individual atom, while the other is positioned considerably above it. As an initial exploration of future applications of this approach, the optical response of core-shell nanostructures, with a core consisting of silver and shell composed of resonant atoms, is examined.