Intrinsically undamped plasmon modes in narrow electron bands [Physics]

Surface plasmons in 2-dimensional electron systems with narrow Bloch bands feature an interesting regime in which Landau damping (dissipation via electron–hole pair excitation) is completely quenched. This surprising behavior is made possible by strong coupling in narrow-band systems characterized by large values of the “fine structure” constant α=e2/ℏκvF. Dissipation quenching...

Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - October 14, 2019 Category: Science Authors: Cyprian Lewandowski, Leonid Levitov Tags: Physical Sciences Source Type: research