Nicholas Rivera

• Optical Physics
• Condensed Matter and Material Physics
• Nanotechnology
• Quantum Information Science

Advances in nanoscience have allowed us as a community to control the propagation and generation of light. One of the most powerful and versatile modern techniques for controlling light is creating “photonic quasiparticles.” When light propagates through a material, it strongly interacts with the underlying material polarization, forming a new effective particle. This “photonic quasiparticle” carries a moving electromagnetic field, just like photons in vacuum, but the underlying properties, such as the energy-momentum dispersion and polarization properties can be very different (see Ref. [3]). When interfacing these photonic quasiparticles with various quantum emitters— such as atomic defects, quantum dots, or free electrons—light emission can be strongly enhanced and controlled. Moreover, a variety of exotic phenomena can be realized that have no analogs with photons in vacuum. See references 1 and 2 below for some of those examples. In reference 1, we showed how polariton excitations in 2D materials could enable “forbidden transitions,” while in reference 2we showed a new type of vacuum force that acts on charged particles, enabling strong X-ray emission without strong applied magnetic fields).
Importantly, these photonic quasiparticles can also be strongly shaped by the underlying material geometry. Controlling light in this way is the foundation of the field called “nanophotonics” which has already enabled transformative applications in light generation, communications, and laser technology. As a recent example of applications realized by nanophotonic control, see reference 4, where we used nanophotonic structures to enhance the detection of ionizing radiation (like X-rays and beta particles). Ionizing radiation is often detected using materials called scintillators, which emit light upon bombardment by the radiation. Since that radiation is dependent on the dispersion of light and the density of states, it stands to reason that by etching nanoscale patterns into scintillators, light emission can be strongly influenced.