Ariel Guerreiro

Abstract
Subwavelength cells of metallic nanorods arrayed in a dielectric background, termed “metamaterials”, present bulk properties that are useful to control and manipulate surface plasmon resonances. Such feature finds tremendous potential in providing a broad manifold of applications for plasmonic optical sensors. In this paper, we propose a surface-plasmon-resonance-based sensor with spectral response tunable by the volume fraction of silver present in a metamaterial layer deposited on a D-shaped photonic crystal fiber. Using computational simulations, we show that sensitivity and resolution can be hugely altered by changing the amount of constituents in the metamaterial, with no further modifications in the structure of the sensor. Moreover, the designed sensor can also be applied to label the average volume fraction of silver in the metamaterial layer and then to estimate its effective constitutive parameters.

Abstract
Light propagating in nonlinear optical materials opens the possibility to emulate quantum fluids of light with accessible tabletop experiments by taking advantage of the hydrodynamical interpretation. In this context, various optical materials have been studied in recent years, with nematic liquid crystals appearing as one of the most promising ones due to their controllable properties. Indeed, the application of an external electric field can tune their nonlocal response, and this mechanism may be useful for producing fluids of light and developing optical analogues. In this work, we extend the applicability of nematic liquid crystal to support optical analogues and study the possibility of emulating turbulent phenomena by using two fluids of light. These fluids interact with each other through the nonlinearity of the medium and generate instabilities that will lead to turbulent regimes. We also explore the possibility of exciting turbulent regimes through the decay of dark soliton stripes. The preliminary results are presented.

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