{
  "abstract": "Localized phonon-polaritons confine electromagnetic fields to subwavelength dimensions and are widely studied in engineered photonic structures. Whether this light-matter physics can arise intrinsically in naturally occurring, free-standing solid particles has remained unexplored. Here we show that mineral aerosols provide a natural realization of localized phonon-polaritons, strongly modifying their long-wavelength optical response. Airborne calcite particles display a pronounced extinction resonance at 3.4 THz that is absent in similarly sized quartz particles, demonstrating that particle geometry alone cannot account for the observed response. Mie theory and anisotropic full-wave simulations identify the resonance as a hybridization between a dipolar Mie mode and the strongly dispersive lattice response of calcite, with its frequency shifted by the non-spherical morphology of the particles. Crucially, this microscopic light-matter interaction extends to the atmospheric scale: radiative-transfer calculations show that calcite's polaritonic response contributes up to 1.1 W m⁻² to outgoing longwave radiation under dust-rich conditions near desert source regions, a magnitude comparable to radiative effects reported for major regional dust events. These results establish naturally occurring mineral particles as a new class of localized polaritonic systems, demonstrating that polaritonic photonics is not confined to engineered structures.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Jeyan Bichon"
    },
    {
      "name": "Hervé Herbin"
    },
    {
      "name": "J-F Lampin"
    },
    {
      "name": "D Petitprez"
    },
    {
      "name": "Romain Peretti"
    },
    {
      "name": "S Eliet-Barois"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/699zk33dn8zbh.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": null,
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "699zk33dn8zbh",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://hal.science/hal-05796051v1",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "hal",
      "0.phys"
    ],
    [
      "hal",
      "0.spi"
    ],
    [
      "hal",
      "1.phys.phys"
    ],
    [
      "hal",
      "1.spi.elec"
    ],
    [
      "hal",
      "2.phys.phys.phys-ao-ph"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": "https://hal.science/hal-05796051/document",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-08",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/699zk33dn8zbh.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:55Z",
      "native_id": "hal-05796051",
      "source": "hal",
      "url": "https://hal.science/hal-05796051v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "earth",
      "origin": "hal:2.phys.phys.phys-ao-ph",
      "subfield": "atmospheric"
    },
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "hal:0.phys",
      "subfield": "general"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Localized phonon-polaritons in natural mineral particles extend to atmospheric scales",
  "title_text": "Localized phonon-polaritons in natural mineral particles extend to atmospheric scales",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:55Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/699zk33dn8zbh",
  "venue": "HAL",
  "versions": []
}