Non-Markovian dynamics and lateral Casimir effect in atom-plasmon coupling nanostructures

This study proposes a nanophotonic structure that supports the generation and enhancement of the lateral Casimir-Polder (CP) force acting on atoms. By applying the two-dimensional anisotropic material, we demonstrate that both the spontaneous decay rate and the emission pattern of the atom exhibit distinct features by manipulating the parameters of the system. In particular, the exact numerical solutions of population dynamics reveal the occurrence of Rabi oscillations in the strong atom-field coupling case, where the Markovian results fail to describe this phenomenon. We also show that the asymmetric spatial distribution of the in-plane dipole radiation into surface plasmon modes is achievable for the system under consideration. Based on these intriguing properties, we predict the generation of the lateral CP force, where the transient evolution of the force indicates the periodical variation in both the direction and the amplitude under strong light-atom interaction conditions. Our findings have potential applications for novel optical nanotechnologies and devices, which provide a method for atom manipulation and trapping.