Plasmonic resonant solitons in metallic nanosuspensions

Robust propagation of self-trapped light over distances exceeding 25 diffraction lengths has been demonstrated for the first time in plasmonic nanosuspensions. This phenomenon results from the interplay between optical forces and enhanced polarizability that would have been otherwise impossible in conventional dielectric dispersions. Plasmonic nanostructures such as core-shell particles, nanorods, and spheres are shown to display tunable polarizabilities depending on their size, shape, and composition, as well as the wavelength of illumination. Here we discuss nonlinear light-matter dynamics arising from an effective positive Kerr effect, which in turn allows for deep penetration of long needles of light through dissipative colloidal media. Our findings may open up new possibilities toward synthesizing soft-matter systems with customized optical nonlinearities.