The new rules, published in the journal Nature Communications, provide a more accurate and complete understanding of how light interacts with matter, and could have implications for a wide range of fields, including optics, materials science, and nanotechnology.
"Our work provides a new way of thinking about how light interacts with matter," said study lead author Professor Ortwin Hess, from the University of Basel in Switzerland. "It could lead to the development of new materials and devices that have novel optical properties."
The new rules are based on the concept of "quantum plasmonics," which is the study of how light interacts with electrons in materials at the nanoscale. At this scale, the quantum nature of light and matter becomes important, and the rules that govern how light interacts with matter are different from those that apply at the macroscopic scale.
The new rules take into account the fact that electrons in materials can be excited by light to higher energy levels, and that these excited electrons can then emit light. This process is known as "photoluminescence," and it is the basis for a wide range of optoelectronic devices, such as lasers and light-emitting diodes (LEDs).
The new rules provide a more accurate and complete description of photoluminescence than existing theories, and they could lead to the development of new materials and devices that have improved optical properties. For example, the new rules could be used to design materials that emit light more efficiently, or materials that can absorb light at specific wavelengths.
"Our work has the potential to revolutionize the field of quantum plasmonics," said Professor Hess. "It could lead to the development of new materials and devices that have novel optical properties and that can be used in a wide range of applications."
