Picocavities and Flares

Picocavity subatomic light

Enhanced optical field around a single gold atom pulled by light from the upper crystal facet. This trapped optical field is concentrated to <0.2nm, massively enhancing the optical response within its subatomic volume. We are now tracking the picocavity resonances in time. [1,2]

Reconstructing single molecule videos

Using systematic quantum theory, the transient vibrational spectra can be used to construct a video of single molecules near the picocavity atom. We are trying to understand better how these coordination bonds to metal atoms work. [3]

Massive forces from light-induced attraction

The nN forces required to pull out a metal atom are far more than conventional optical tweezing. At the atomic scale, we find the tightly-confined light can shift electron clouds on the tip of the nearby molecules, producing huge dipole-dipole attractions. [2]

Room light driven Au atoms

We recently discovered a class of molecules that bind to Au or Ag, and under even very weak illumination can move atoms by fractions of a mm. The secret appears to be a cooperative binding site between pairs of molecules which hand over the metal atoms rapidly. [5]

Flares: cooperative picocavities

Brief broadband flashes of light emitted by these plasmonic nanocavities are now shown by full quantum theory to come from entire atomic monolayers being lifted. Surprisingly, light can be trapped in the 0.2nm gap between metal atoms. [4]