Casimir Light in Dispersive Nanophotonics.

Area of Science:

• Quantum optics
• Condensed matter physics
• Nanophotonics

Background:

• Time-varying optical media enable novel light-matter interactions.
• Dynamical vacuum effects (DVEs) convert virtual photons to real photons, offering potential quantum light sources.
• Existing DVEs are typically weak, necessitating enhancement strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a theoretical framework for weakly modulated DVEs in complex nanostructured systems.
• To incorporate both time-modulation and dispersion within a unified theory.
• To propose an efficient method for generating entangled quantum light.

Main Methods:

• Developed a time-translation-breaking linear response theory.
• Simultaneously incorporated time-modulation and dispersion.
• Applied the theory to nanostructured, dispersive, and dissipative systems.

Main Results:

• Presented a general theory for DVEs in arbitrary nanophotonic systems.
• Demonstrated a highly efficient scheme for generating entangled surface polaritons.
• Showcased the enhancement of DVEs using optical phonon polaritons.

Conclusions:

• The developed theory provides a powerful tool for understanding and enhancing DVEs.
• Nanophotonic approaches, like modulating phonon polaritons, can significantly boost quantum light generation.
• This work paves the way for practical quantum light sources based on time-dependent media.