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The two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenides (2D TMDCs) are an intriguing platform for studying light-matter interactions because they combine the electronic properties of conventional semiconductors with the optical resonances found in organic systems. However, the coupling strengths demonstrated in strong exciton-polariton coupling remain much lower than those found in organic systems. In this paper, we take on a new approach by utilizing the large oscillator strength of the above-band gap C exciton in few-layer molybdenum disulphide ($\text{FL-MoS}_2$). We show a k-space Rabi splitting of 293 meV when coupling $\text{FL-MoS}_2$ C excitons to surface plasmon polaritons at room temperature. This value is 11% of the uncoupled exciton energy (2.67 eV or 464 nm), ~2x what is typically seen in the TMDCs, placing the system in the ultrastrong coupling regime. Our results take a step towards finally achieving the efficient quantum coherent processes of ultrastrong coupling in a CMOS-compatible system -- the 2D TMDCs -- in the visible spectrum.

We study the quantum-mechanical effects arising in a single semiconductor core/shell quantum dot controllably sandwiched between two plasmonic nanorods. Control over the position and the sandwich confinement structure is achieved by the use of a linear-trap, liquid-crystal line defect and laser tweezers that push the sandwich together. This arrangement allows for the study of exciton plasmon interactions in a single structure, unaltered by ensemble effects or the complexity of dielectric interfaces. We demonstrate the effect of plasmonic confinement on the photon-antibunching behavior of the quantum dot and its luminescence lifetime. The quantum dot behaves as a single emitter when nanorods are far away from the quantum dot but shows possible multiexciton emission and a significantly decreased lifetime when tightly confined in a plasmonic sandwich. These findings demonstrate that liquid crystal defects, combined with laser tweezers, enable a versatile platform to study plasmonic coupling phenomena in a nanoscale laboratory, where all elements can be arranged almost at will., Comment: Supporting information at the end

We study plasmon-exciton interaction by using topological singularities to spatially confine, selectively deliver, cotrap and optically probe colloidal semiconductor and plasmonic nanoparticles. The interaction is monitored in a single quantum system in the bulk of a liquid crystal medium where nanoparticles are manipulated and nanoconfined far from dielectric interfaces using laser tweezers and topological configurations are spatially colocated with a plasmonic gold nanoburst particle in a topological singularity core, its fluorescence increases because blinking is significantly suppressed and the radiative decay rate increases by nearly an order of magnitude owing to the Purcell effect. We argue that the blinking suppression is the result of the radiative rate change that mitigates Auger recombination and quantum dot ionization, consequently reducing nonradiative recombination. Our work demonstrates that topological singularities are an effective platform for studying and controlling plasmon-exciton interactions.

We explore spatially localized solitonic configurations of a director field, generated using optical realignment and laser-induced heating, in frustrated chiral nematic liquid crystals confined between substrates with perpendicular surface anchoring. We demonstrate that, in addition to recently studied torons and Hopf-fibration solitonic structures (hopfions), one can generate a host of other axially symmetric stable and metastable director field configurations where local twist is matched to the surface boundary conditions through introduction of point defects and loops of singular and nonsingular disclinations. The experimentally demonstrated structures include the so-called "baby-skyrmions" in the form of double twist cylinders oriented perpendicular to the confining substrates where their double twist field configuration is matched to the perpendicular boundary conditions by loops of twist disclinations. We also generate complex textures with arbitrarily large skyrmion numbers. A simple back-of-the-envelope theoretical analysis based on free energy considerations and the nonpolar nature of chiral nematics provides insights into the long-term stability and diversity of these inter-related solitonic field configurations, including different types of torons, cholestric-finger loops, two-dimensional skyrmions, and more complex structures comprised of torons, hopfions, and various disclination loops that are experimentally observed in a confinement-frustrated chiral nematic system.

We demonstrate scaffolding of plasmonic nanoparticles by topological defects induced by colloidal microspheres to match their surface boundary conditions with a uniform far-field alignment in a liquid crystal host. Displacing energetically costly liquid crystal regions of reduced order, anisotropic nanoparticles with concave or convex shapes not only stably localize in defects but also self-orient with respect to the microsphere surface. Using laser tweezers, we manipulate the ensuing nanoparticle-microsphere colloidal dimers, probing the strength of elastic binding and demonstrating self-assembly of hierarchical colloidal superstructures such as chains and arrays.

We present a method to locally probe spatially varying chemical composition of soft matter systems by use of optically controlled and elastically self-assembled plasmonic nanoantennae. Disc-shaped metal particles with sharp irregular edges are optically trapped, manipulated, and assembled into small clusters to provide a strong enhancement of the Raman scattering signal coming from the sample regions around and in-between these particles. As the particles are reassembled and spatially translated by computer-controlled laser tweezers, we probe chemical composition as a function of spatial coordinates. This allows us to reliably detect tiny quantities of organic molecules, such as capping ligands present on various nanoparticles, as well as to probe chemical composition of the interior of liquid crystal defect cores that can be filled with, for example, polymer chains. The strong electromagnetic field enhancement of optically-manipulated nanoparticles rough surfaces is demonstrated in different forms of spectroscopy and microscopy, including enhanced spontaneous Raman scattering, coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering, and stimulated Raman scattering imaging modes., Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures