Expanding the Phase Space of Photons in Matter: From High-Throughput Screening to Atom-by-Atom Engineering

Abstract

Focusing on the topological band properties of photonic crystals and the plasmonic properties of two-dimensional metals, we seek to answer the question: what is the phase space of photons in matter? For topology, what are the physical parameters that determine whether a given photonic crystal band hosts Dirac points, a non-zero Chern number, or topologically protected corner states? And for plasmons, what are the experimentally addressable ranges of plasmonic dispersions, phase velocities, confinements, and losses? In particular, is it possible to engineer the elusive lossless plasmon? Using high-throughput screening, artificial intelligence, and atom-by-atom engineering through density functional theory, we determine the topological prevalence of photonic bands, propose two systems that evade plasmonic losses through the electron-phonon interaction, and (re)discover general physical laws that govern the geometries of photonic eigenstates.