Engineering Optical and Chiroptical Response of Plasmonic Nanosystems

Nanoscale light manipulation using nanoparticles can facilitate significant advancements in multiple areas of research with potential applications in quantum information transfer, information storage, sensing, quantum optics, solar energy harvesting and cancer therapy. Materials formed by combining different nanoparticles and molecules show exceptional capabilities to control light in the nanoscale. Effective use of such materials in applications requires accurate system models that consider quantum effects. This thesis presents such models and investigates the ability to use metal nanostructures to manipulate the optical signals in nanoscale.