A microscopic, non-local response theory is developed to model the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with inhomogeneous nano-scale clusters. The breakdown of classical continuum-field Mie theory is demonstrated at a critical coarse-graining threshold, below which macroscopic plasmon resonances are replaced by molecular excitations with suppressed spectral intensity.
@article{arxiv.cond-mat/0607252,
title = {Electromagnetic response of broken-symmetry nano-scale clusters},
author = {Ilya Grigorenko and Stephan Haas and A. F. J. Levi},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:cond-mat/0607252},
year = {2009}
}