Anderson localization of light in three dimensions
Résumé
Previous theoretical research demonstrated that longitudinal electromagnetic fields impede Anderson localization of light in three-dimensional (3D) random ensembles of resonant point-like scatterers [1,2]. At the same time, experimental efforts to observe Anderson localization of light in 3D were unsuccessful for various reasons (see Ref. 3 for a summary). Our recent numerical simulations made possible by a new, highly efficient combination of software and hardware, demonstrate that Anderson localization of light is impossible in large random ensembles of overlapping dielectric spheres, suggesting a plausible explanation for the failure of previous experiments [4]. Motivated by the work on the detrimental role of longitudinal electromagnetic fields [1,2], we propose to look for Anderson localization of light in porous conducting (i.e., metallic) structures where longitudinal fields are suppressed. Our numerical results demonstrate that indeed, transmission of light through such structures exhibits signatures expected for Anderson localization: non-exponential decay of the time-dependent transmission, arrested expansion of the diffusive halo, enhanced fluctuations in the spectrum of light, etc. [4]. We suggest that future experimental and theoretical research on Anderson localization of light in 3D should focus on metallic structures with random, percolating pores. 1. S.E. Skipetrov & I.M. Sokolov, Absence of Anderson localization of light in a random ensemble of point scatterers, Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 023905 (2014) 2. B.A. van Tiggelen & S.E. Skipetrov, Longitudinal modes in diffusion and localization of light, Phys. Rev. B 103, 174204 (2021) 3. S.E. Skipetrov & J.H. Page, Red light for Anderson localization, New J. Phys. 18, 021001 (2016) 4. A. Yamilov, S.E. Skipetrov, T.W. Hughes, M. Minkov, Z. Yu, & H. Cao, Anderson localization of electromagnetic waves in three dimensions, Nature Physics 19, 1308 (2023)