Exceptional points in three-dimensional plasmonic nanostructures

Exceptional points (EPs) are degeneracies in open wave systems where at least two energy levels and their corresponding eigenstates coalesce. We report evidence of the existence of EPs in three-dimensional (3D) plasmonic nanostructures. The systems are composed of coupled plasmonic nanoresonators and can be judiciously and systematically driven to EPs by controlling symmetry-compatible modes via their near-field and far-field interactions. The proposed platform opens the way to the investigation of EPs for enhanced light-matter interactions and applications in communication, sensing, and imaging.