Light matter interaction in chaotic resonators

Abstract

Chaos is a complex dynamics with exponential sensitivity to the initial conditions. Since the study of three-body problem by Henri Poincare, chaos has been extensively studied in many systems, ranging from electronics to fluids, brains and more recently photonics. Chaos is a ubiquitous phenomenon in Nature, from the gigantic oceanic waves to the disordered scales of white beetles at nanoscale. The presence of chaos is often unwanted in applications, as it introduces unpredictability,which makes it difficult to predict or explain experimental results. Inspired by how chaos permeates the natural world, this thesis investigates on how the interaction between light and chaotic structure can enhance the performance of photonics devices. With a proper design of the lighter-mater interaction in chaotic resonators, I illustrate how chaos can be used to enhance the ability of an optical cavity to store electromagnetic energy, realize a blackbody system composed of gold nanoparticles, localize light beyond the diffraction limit and control the phase transition of super-radiance.