Plasmon-Polariton Modes in Fullerenes

Area of Science:

• Condensed Matter Physics
• Materials Science
• Computational Chemistry

Background:

• Collective electronic excitations in C60 fullerenes are known as Mie plasmons.
• In graphene, an infinitely large fullerene, these excitations are plasmon-polaritons.
• Plasmon properties in intermediate-sized fullerenes remain largely unexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the evolution of plasmon properties in fullerenes with increasing size.
• To explore the emergence of plasmon-polariton behavior in intermediate fullerenes.
• To bridge the understanding between Mie plasmons in C60 and plasmon-polaritons in graphene.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the GW approximation for theoretical calculations.
• Examined electronic excitations in fullerenes C60, C240, and C540.
• Analyzed plasmon resonance frequencies and intensities.

Main Results:

• Predicted the formation of a high-frequency plasmon resonance in C240 fullerenes.
• Observed this high-frequency resonance intensity becoming comparable to Mie plasmon resonance in C540 fullerenes.
• Associated these findings with the incipient formation of plasmon-polariton oscillations.

Conclusions:

• This work provides the first identification and study of plasmon-polaritons in fullerene excitation spectra.
• Demonstrates a transition pathway from Mie plasmons to plasmon-polaritons across fullerene sizes.
• Highlights the importance of fullerene size in determining collective electronic excitation characteristics.