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 Karl Franzens University Graz

Graz University of Technology 

Light Scattering in Nanophotonic Systems
Carsten Rockstuhl
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
16:15 - 17:15 Tuesday 15 October 2024 

Gustav Mie outlined more than 100 years ago a quasi-analytical solution for light scattering at a sphere. It constitutes a algebraic solution to Maxwell’s equations, where the incident and scattered fields are expanded into a suitable basis set. A matrix then expresses the relation between the amplitude coefficients of the incident and scattered fields. The matrix is diagonal for a sphere. Still, this transition, or T-matrix, can be obtained numerically for more complicated objects. Even though mature at first glimpse, the topic continues to be vibrant, and many extensions have been made to explore light-matter interactions out of intellectual curiosity and to develop applications.
This presentation outlines these recent developments. It looks into four-dimensional metamaterials (made from periodically arranged objects made from a time-varying material) or photonic devices made from molecules, where the molecular properties are described with a T-matrix calculated using time-dependent density functional theory. Finally, we present efforts from a larger number of community members to define a standard for storing and distributing T-matrices. This would be one contribution from our community to lower our research's carbon footprint and enable data-driven research.