120 research outputs found
Saturation induced coherence loss in coherent backscattering of light
We use coherent backscattering (CBS) of light by cold Strontium atoms to
study the mutual coherence of light waves in the multiple scattering regime. As
the probe light intensity is increased, the atomic optical transition starts to
be saturated. Nonlinearities and inelastic scattering then occur. In our
experiment, we observe a strongly reduced enhancement factor of the coherent
backscattering cone when the intensity of the probe laser is increased,
indicating a partial loss of coherence in multiple scattering
Decay Rate Distributions of Disordered Slabs and Application to Random Lasers
We compute the distribution of the decay rates (also referred to as residues)
of the eigenstates of a disordered slab from a numerical model. From the
results of the numerical simulations, we are able to find simple analytical
formulae that describe those results well. This is possible for samples both in
the diffusive and in the localised regime. As example of a possible
application, we investigate the lasing threshold of random lasers.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figure
Localized Random Lasing Modes and a New Path for Observing Localization
We demonstrate that a knowledge of the density-of-states and the eigenstates
of a random system without gain, in conjunction with the frequency profile of
the gain, can accurately predict the mode that will lase first. Its critical
pumping rate can be also obtained. It is found that the shape of the
wavefunction of the random system remains unchanged as gain is introduced.
These results were obtained by the time-independent transfer matrix method and
finite-difference-time-domain (FDTD) methods. They can be also analytically
understood by generalizing the semi-classical Lamb theory of lasing in random
systems. These findings provide a new path for observing the localization of
light, such as looking for mobility edge and studying the localized states.
%inside the random systems..Comment: Sent to PRL. 3 figure
Propagation inhibition and wave localization in a 2D random liquid medium
Acoustic propagation and scattering in water containing many parallel
air-filled cylinders is studied. Two situations are considered and compared:
(1) wave propagating through the array of cylinders, imitating a traditional
experimental setup, and (2) wave transmitted from a source located inside the
ensemble. We show that waves can be blocked from propagation by disorders in
the first scenario, but the inhibition does not necessarily imply wave
localization. Furthermore, the results reveal the phenomenon of wave
localization in a range of frequencies.Comment: Typos in Fiures are correcte
Local and average fields inside surface-disordered waveguides: Resonances in the one-dimensional Anderson localization regime
We investigate the one-dimensional propagation of waves in the Anderson
localization regime, for a single-mode, surface disordered waveguide. We make
use of both an analytical formulation and rigorous numerical simulation
calculations. The occurrence of anomalously large transmission coefficients for
given realizations and/or frequencies is studied, revealing huge field
intensity concentration inside the disordered waveguide. The analytically
predicted s-like dependence of the average intensity, being in good agreement
with the numerical results for moderately long systems, fails to explain the
intensity distribution observed deep in the localized regime. The average
contribution to the field intensity from the resonances that are above a
threshold transmission coefficient is a broad distribution with a large
maximum at/near mid-waveguide, depending universally (for given ) on the
ratio of the length of the disorder segment to the localization length,
. The same universality is observed in the spatial distribution of the
intensity inside typical (non-resonant with respect to the transmission
coefficient) realizations, presenting a s-like shape similar to that of the
total average intensity for close to 1, which decays faster the lower
is . Evidence is given of the self-averaging nature of the random
quantity . Higher-order moments of the intensity are
also shown.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figure
Field quantization for open optical cavities
We study the quantum properties of the electromagnetic field in optical
cavities coupled to an arbitrary number of escape channels. We consider both
inhomogeneous dielectric resonators with a scalar dielectric constant
and cavities defined by mirrors of arbitrary shape. Using
the Feshbach projector technique we quantize the field in terms of a set of
resonator and bath modes. We rigorously show that the field Hamiltonian reduces
to the system--and--bath Hamiltonian of quantum optics. The field dynamics is
investigated using the input--output theory of Gardiner and Collet. In the case
of strong coupling to the external radiation field we find spectrally
overlapping resonator modes. The mode dynamics is coupled due to the damping
and noise inflicted by the external field. For wave chaotic resonators the mode
dynamics is determined by a non--Hermitean random matrix. Upon including an
amplifying medium, our dynamics of open-resonator modes may serve as a starting
point for a quantum theory of random lasing.Comment: 16 pages, added references, corrected typo
Localization of electromagnetic waves in a two dimensional random medium
Motivated by previous investigations on the radiative effects of the electric
dipoles embedded in structured cavities, localization of electromagnetic waves
in two dimensions is studied {\it ab initio} for a system consisting of many
randomly distributed two dimensional dipoles. A set of self-consistent
equations, incorporating all orders of multiple scattering of the
electromagnetic waves, is derived from first principles and then solved
numerically for the total electromagnetic field. The results show that
spatially localized electromagnetic waves are possible in such a simple but
realistic disordered system. When localization occurs, a coherent behavior
appears and is revealed as a unique property differentiating localization from
either the residual absorption or the attenuation effects
Nonlinear optical tuning of photonic crystal microcavities by near-field probe
We report on a nonlinear way to control and tune the dielectric environment of photonic crystalmicrocavities exploiting the local heating induced by near-field laser excitation at differentexcitation powers. The temperature gradient due to the optical absorption results in an index ofrefraction gradient which modifies the dielectric surroundings of the cavity and shifts the opticalmodes. Reversible tuning can be obtained either by changing the excitation power density or byexciting in different points of the photonic crystal microcavity
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