On the electromagnetic resonances of nanoparticles

A spectral technique is applied to evaluate the resonance frequencies of the full retarded scattering from spherical nanoparticles. This approach allows one to unambiguously identify the modes that are responsible of both the peaks and the asymmetric lineshapes of the scattered power spectra. The fundamental differences between the electromagnetic scattering properties of dielectric and metal spheres are discussed. These results are used to investigate the scattering from isolated silicon and silver nanospheres.