Temporal control of graphene plasmons

Electrostatic gating and optical pumping schemes enable efficient time modulation of graphene's free-carrier density, or Drude weight. We develop a theory for plasmon propagation in graphene under temporal modulation. When the modulation is on the timescale of the plasmonic period, we show that it is possible to create a backwards propagating or standing plasmon wave and to amplify plasmons. The theoretical models show very good agreement with direct Maxwell simulations.