2 research outputs found
Millimeter Wave Localization: Slow Light and Enhanced Absorption
We exploit millimeter wave technology to measure the reflection and
transmission response of random dielectric media. Our samples are easily
constructed from random stacks of identical, sub-wavelength quartz and Teflon
wafers. The measurement allows us to observe the characteristic transmission
resonances associated with localization. We show that these resonances give
rise to enhanced attenuation even though the attenuation of homogeneous quartz
and Teflon is quite low. We provide experimental evidence of disorder-induced
slow light and superluminal group velocities, which, in contrast to photonic
crystals, are not associated with any periodicity in the system. Furthermore,
we observe localization even though the sample is only about four times the
localization length, interpreting our data in terms of an effective cavity
model. An algorithm for the retrieval of the internal parameters of random
samples (localization length and average absorption rate) from the external
measurements of the reflection and transmission coefficients is presented and
applied to a particular random sample. The retrieved value of the absorption is
in agreement with the directly measured value within the accuracy of the
experiment.Comment: revised and expande
Kondo effect and mesoscopic fluctuations
Two important themes in nanoscale physics in the last two decades are correlations between electrons and mesoscopic fluctuations. Here we review our recent work on the intersection of these two themes. The setting is the Kondo effect, a paradigmatic example of correlated electron physics, in a nanoscale system with mesoscopic fluctuations; in particular, we consider a small quantum dot coupled to a finite reservoir (which itself may be a large quantum dot). We discuss three aspects of this problem. First, in the high-temperature regime, we argue that a Kondo temperature TK which takes into account the mesoscopic fluctuations is a relevant concept: for instance, physical properties are universal functions of T/TK. Secondly, when the temperature is much less than the mean level spacing due to confinement, we characterize a natural cross-over from weak to strong coupling. This strong coupling regime is itself characterized by well-defined single-particle levels, as one can see from a Nozières Fermi-liquid theory argument. Finally, using a mean-field technique, we connect the mesoscopic fluctuations of the quasiparticles in the weak coupling regime to those at strong coupling