Decay rates of a molecule in the vicinity of a spherical surface of an isotropic magnetodielectric material

A comprehensive study is presented on the decay rates of excited molecules in the vicinity of amagnetodielectric material of spherical geometry via electrodynamic modeling. Both the models based on a driven-damped harmonic oscillator and on energy transfers will be applied so that the total decay rates can be rigorously decomposed into the radiative and the nonradiative rates. Clarifications of the equivalence of these two models for arbitrary geometry will be provided. Different possible orientations and locations of the molecule are studied with the molecule being placed near a spherical particle or a cavity. Among other results, TE modes are observed which can be manifested via nonradiative transfer from a tangential dipole within a small range of dissipation parameters set for the spherical particle. In addition, spectral analysis shows that decay rates at such a particle with small absorption are largely dominated by radiative transfer except at multipolar resonances when nonradiative transfer becomes prominent, and relatively unmodified decay is possible when negative refraction takes place.