Image of light trapped on the surface of a nanoparticle topological insulator. (Photo : Vincenzo Giannini)
It's possible to create a new form of light by binding light to a single electron, combining the properties of both, said a new study.
Scientists from the Imperial College London said the coupled light and electron would have properties that could lead to circuits that work with photons or packages of light instead of electrons. This will also allow researchers to study quantum physical phenomena that govern particles smaller than atoms on a visible scale.
In the study published in Nature Communications, Dr. Vincenzo Giannini and colleagues modeled this interaction around a nanoparticle -- a small sphere below 0.00000001 meters in diameter -- made of a topological insulator.
Their models showed the electron also takes on some of the properties of the light, as well as the light taking the property of the electron and circulating the particle.
Normally, electrons travelling along materials will stop when faced with a defect. Dr. Giannini's team, however, discovered that even if there were imperfections in the surface of the nanoparticle, the electron would still be able to travel onwards with the aid of the light.
If this could be adapted into photonic circuits, they would be more robust and less vulnerable to disruption and physical imperfections.
"The results of this research will have a huge impact on the way we conceive light. Topological insulators were only discovered in the last decade, but are already providing us with new phenomena to study and new ways to explore important concepts in physics," said Dr. Giannini.
He said it should be possible to observe the phenomena he has modeled in experiments using current technology. His team is working with experimental physicists to make this a reality.
He believes the process that leads to the creation of this new form of light could be scaled up so the phenomena could observed much more easily.
Currently, quantum phenomena can only be seen when looking at very small objects or objects that have been super-cooled. The discovery by Dr. Giannini's team could allow scientists to study these kinds of behavior at room temperature.
In normal materials, light interacts with a whole host of electrons present on the surface and within the material. But by using theoretical physics to model the behavior of light and a recently-discovered class of materials known as topological insulators, Imperial researchers found it could interact with just one electron on the surface.
This creates a coupling that merges some of the properties of the light and the electron. Normally, light travels in a straight line, but when bound to the electron it instead follows its path, tracing the surface of the material.
