Alexander O. Govorov (Ohio University)

Date: Mon. September 21st, 2026, 12:45 pm-1:45 pm
Location: Rockefeller 221 (Foldy room)
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Why Is Chirality So Hot in Plasmonics?

A Short Journey into Langmuir’s Legacy of Plasma Oscillations and How the Term “Plasmon” Was Coined

Speaker: Alexander O. Govorov

Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ohio University, Athens, USA; govorov@ohio.edu

(Host: Harsh Mathur)

Abstract: Chirality, a property of structures whose mirror images cannot be superimposed [1], plays a fundamental role in biological systems and is becoming increasingly important in plasmonics and biophotonics. We investigate how symmetry breaking and plasmonic resonances govern local electromagnetic fields and hot-carrier distributions [2].

Our approach combines electromagnetic simulations with quantum and semiclassical transport theory [3], supported by spectroscopic and photoelectrical experiments. We also briefly discuss Langmuir’s legacy of plasma oscillations and the enduring influence of the Drude–Sommerfeld model on modern nanoscale transport physics and hot-electron phenomena in plasmonic materials.

[1] W. Thomson (Lord Kelvin), The Molecular Tactics of a Crystal, Clarendon Press, Oxford (1894).

[2] Y. Yao et al., Chem (Cell Press), 102544 (2025).

[3] L. Chang et al., ACS Energy Letters 4, 2552–2568 (2019).