Topological edge plasmon modes between diatomic chains of plasmonic nanoparticles

We study the topological edge plasmon modes between two diatomic chains of identical plasmonic nanoparticles. Zak phase for longitudinal plasmon modes in each chain is calculated analytically by solutions of macroscopic Maxwell's equations for particles in quasi-static dipole approximation. This approximation provides a direct analogy with the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger model such that the eigenvalue is mapped to the frequency dependent inverse-polarizability of the nanoparticles. The edge state frequency is found to be the same as the single-particle resonance frequency, which is insensitive to the separation distances within a unit cell. Finally, full electrodynamic simulations with realistic parameters suggest that the edge plasmon mode can be realized through near-field optical spectroscopy. (C) 2015 Optical Society of America