Plasmon-emitter interactions at the nanoscale

Plasmon-emitter interactions are of central importance in modern nanoplasmonics and are generally maximal at short emitter-surface separations. However, when the separation falls below 10-20nm, the classical theory deteriorates progressively due to its neglect of quantum effects such as nonlocality, electronic spill-out, and Landau damping. Here we show how this neglect can be remedied in a unified theoretical treatment of mesoscopic electrodynamics incorporating Feibelman d-parameters. Our approach incorporates nonclassical resonance shifts and surface-enabled Landau damping-a nonlocal damping effect-which have a dramatic impact on the amplitude and spectral distribution of plasmon-emitter interactions. We consider a broad array of plasmon-emitter interactions ranging from dipolar and multipolar spontaneous emission enhancement, to plasmon-assisted energy transfer and enhancement of two-photon transitions. The formalism gives a complete account of both plasmons and plasmon-emitter interactions at the nanoscale, constituting a simple yet rigorous platform to include nonclassical effects in plasmon-enabled nanophotonic phenomena. Plasmonic enhancements of light-matter interactions are generally maximal at short emitter-surface separations. Here, the authors investigate the impact of nonlocality, spill-out, and surface-assisted Landau damping at nanoscale separations using a mesoscopic electrodynamic framework.