Pedro A. Cosme's thesis published in Springer
Pedro Afonso Cosme e Silva's doctoral thesis, developed at IPFN, has been published in the Springer Theses collection, which annually recognises some of the best doctoral dissertations from higher education institutions around the world. The announcement was made last week, with the official publication taking place in early April 2025.
Entitled Plasmonic Instabilities in Bidimensional Materials, the thesis was completed between 2019 and 2024 at Instituto Superior Técnico – Universidade de Lisboa, as part of the Doctoral Programme in Physics. The project was supervised by Hugo Terças and co-supervised by José Tito Mendonça, both researchers at IPFN and faculty members of Técnico’s Department of Physics.
The research explores the unique properties of bidimensional (2D) materials — such as high electron mobility, distinctive band structures and gapless plasmons — which enable strong interactions with electromagnetic waves across a broad frequency spectrum. These characteristics make 2D materials highly promising for future applications in electronics, optoelectronics and terahertz (THz) technology.
The thesis establishes a theoretical framework for understanding the electrohydrodynamic behaviour of these systems and investigates how plasmonic instabilities can be harnessed to develop efficient THz radiation sources. Building on this foundation, the work progresses through increasingly complex phenomena, including nonlinear wave dynamics, topological effects and modulational instabilities, ultimately contributing new theoretical insights and simulations to the field of plasmonics.
Springer Theses series gathers outstanding doctoral research papers from institutions around the world, after a rigorous nomination and peer review process.
Pedro is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the fluid lab group of the Institute of Physics at the University of Amsterdam. His work builds on his doctoral research, exploring complex and topological fluid systems and their potential for future applications in physics and engineering.
The book is
available at:
🔗 https://link.springer.com/book/9783031800917
