Plasmon wave function of graphene nanoribbons

Abstract

We find the low-frequency optical response of highly doped individual and arrayed graphene nanoribbons to be accurately described in terms of plasmon wave functions (PWFs). More precisely, we focus on the lowest-order transverse dipolar mode, for which we define the wave function as the induced charge density associated with the plasmon. We show that a single universal wave function is capable of describing the normal-incidence interaction of paired, co-planar, and stacked arrays of ribbons down to small inter-ribbon distances. Our work provides both intuitive insight into graphene plasmon interactions and a practical way of accurately describing complex graphene geometries based on the PWFs of the individual components.