The plasmonic eigenvalue problem

Abstract

A plasmon of a bounded domain $\Omega\subset\mathbb{R}^n$ is a non-trivial bounded harmonic function on $\mathbb{R}^n\setminus\partial\Omega$ which is continuous at $\partial\Omega$ and whose exterior and interior normal derivatives at $\partial\Omega$ have a constant ratio. We call this ratio a plasmonic eigenvalue of $\Omega$. Plasmons arise in the description of electromagnetic waves hitting a metallic particle $\Omega$. We investigate these eigenvalues and prove that they form a sequence of numbers converging to one. Also, we prove regularity of plasmons, derive a variational characterization, and prove a second order perturbation formula. The problem can be reformulated in terms of Dirichlet-Neumann operators, and as a side result we derive a formula for the shape derivative of these operators.