Subwavelength modulational instability and plasmon oscillons in nanoparticle arrays

TL;DR

This paper investigates modulational instability in nonlinear nanoparticle arrays, showing it can produce stable localized oscillating modes called plasmon oscillons, with potential implications for nanophotonics.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of plasmon oscillons in nanoparticle arrays and analyzes their formation through nonlinear modulational instability.

Findings

Modulational instability leads to periodic polarization modulations.

Nanoparticle arrays can support long-lived nonlinear localized modes.

Formation of standing and moving plasmon oscillons demonstrated.

Abstract

We study modulational instability in nonlinear arrays of subwavelength metallic nanoparticles, and analyze numerically nonlinear scenarios of the instability development. We demonstrate that modulational instability can lead to the formation of regular periodic or quasi-periodic modulations of the polarization. We reveal that such nonlinear nanoparticle arrays can support long-lived standing and moving oscillating nonlinear localized modes - plasmon oscillons.