Scattering Lens Resolves sub-100 nm Structures with Visible Light

The smallest structures that conventional lenses are able to optically resolve are of the order of 200 nm. We introduce a new type of lens that exploits multiple scattering of light to generate a scanning nano-sized optical focus. With an experimental realization of this lens in gallium phosphide we have succeeded to image gold nanoparticles at 97 nm optical resolution. Our work is the first lens that provides a resolution in the nanometer regime at visible wavelengths.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Probing the eigenfunction fractality with a stop watch

We study numerically the distribution of scattering phases ${\cal P}(\Phi)$ and of Wigner delay times ${\cal P}(\tau_W)$ for the power-law banded random matrix (PBRM) model at criticality with one channel attached to it. We find that ${\cal P}(\Phi)$ is insensitive to the position of the channel and undergoes a transition towards uniformity as the bandwidth $b$ of the PBRM model increases. The inverse moments of Wigner delay times scale as $\sim L^{- q D_{q+1}}$, where $D_q$ are the multifractal dimensions of the eigenfunctions of the corresponding closed system and $L$ is the system size. The latter scaling law is sensitive to the position of the channel.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Inhibited spontaneous emission of quantum dots observed in a 3D photonic band gap

We present time-resolved emission experiments of semiconductor quantum dots in silicon 3D inverse-woodpile photonic band gap crystals. A systematic study is made of crystals with a range of pore radii to tune the band gap relative to the emission frequency. The decay rates averaged over all dipole orientations are inhibited by a factor of 10 in the photonic band gap and enhanced up to 2? outside the gap, in agreement with theory. We discuss the effects of spatial inhomogeneity, nonradiative decay, and transition dipole orientations on the observed inhibition in the band gap.Comment: 5 figures, update author lis

A multiple-scattering approach to interatomic interactions and superradiance in inhomogeneous dielectrics

The dynamics of a collection of resonant atoms embedded inside an inhomogeneous nondispersive and lossless dielectric is described with a dipole Hamiltonian that is based on a canonical quantization theory. The dielectric is described macroscopically by a position-dependent dielectric function and the atoms as microscopic harmonic oscillators. We identify and discuss the role of several types of Green tensors that describe the spatio-temporal propagation of field operators. After integrating out the atomic degrees of freedom, a multiple-scattering formalism emerges in which an exact Lippmann-Schwinger equation for the electric field operator plays a central role. The equation describes atoms as point sources and point scatterers for light. First, single-atom properties are calculated such as position-dependent spontaneous-emission rates as well as differential cross sections for elastic scattering and for resonance fluorescence. Secondly, multi-atom processes are studied. It is shown that the medium modifies both the resonant and the static parts of the dipole-dipole interactions. These interatomic interactions may cause the atoms to scatter and emit light cooperatively. Unlike in free space, differences in position-dependent emission rates and radiative line shifts influence cooperative decay in the dielectric. As a generic example, it is shown that near a partially reflecting plane there is a sharp transition from two-atom superradiance to single-atom emission as the atomic positions are varied.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Physical Review

Exact Quantum Monte Carlo Process for the Statistics of Discrete Systems

We introduce an exact Monte Carlo approach to the statistics of discrete quantum systems which does not rely on the standard fragmentation of the imaginary time, or any small parameter. The method deals with discrete objects, kinks, representing virtual transitions at different moments of time. The global statistics of kinks is reproduced by explicit local procedures, the key one being based on the exact solution for the biased two-level system.Comment: 4 pages, latex, no figures, English translation of the paper

Diffusion and Localization of Cold Atoms in 3D Optical Speckle

In this work we re-formulate and solve the self-consistent theory for localization to a Bose-Einstein condensate expanding in a 3D optical speckle. The long-range nature of the fluctuations in the potential energy, treated in the self-consistent Born approximation, make the scattering strongly velocity dependent, and its consequences for mobility edge and fraction of localized atoms have been investigated numerically.Comment: 8 pages, 11 figure

Multipole interaction between atoms and their photonic environment

Macroscopic field quantization is presented for a nondispersive photonic dielectric environment, both in the absence and presence of guest atoms. Starting with a minimal-coupling Lagrangian, a careful look at functional derivatives shows how to obtain Maxwell's equations before and after choosing a suitable gauge. A Hamiltonian is derived with a multipolar interaction between the guest atoms and the electromagnetic field. Canonical variables and fields are determined and in particular the field canonically conjugate to the vector potential is identified by functional differentiation as minus the full displacement field. An important result is that inside the dielectric a dipole couples to a field that is neither the (transverse) electric nor the macroscopic displacement field. The dielectric function is different from the bulk dielectric function at the position of the dipole, so that local-field effects must be taken into account.Comment: 17 pages, to be published in Physical Review

Signatures of photon localization

Signatures of photon localization are observed in a constellation of transport phenomena which reflect the transition from diffusive to localized waves. The dimensionless conductance, g, and the ratio of the typical spectral width and spacing of quasimodes, \delta, are key indicators of electronic and classical wave localization when inelastic processes are absent. However, these can no longer serve as localization parameters in absorbing samples since the affect of absorption depends upon the length of the trajectories of partial waves traversing the sample, which are superposed to create the scattered field. A robust determination of localization in the presence of absorption is found, however, in steady-state measurements of the statistics of radiation transmitted through random samples. This is captured in a single parameter, the variance of the total transmission normalized to its ensemble average value, which is equal to the degree of intensity correlation of the transmitted wave, \kappa. The intertwined effects of localization and absorption can also be disentangled in the time domain since all waves emerging from the sample at a fixed time delay from an exciting pulse, t, are suppressed equally by absorption. As a result, the relative weights of partial waves emerging from the sample, and hence the statistics of intensity fluctuations and correlation, and the suppression of propagation by weak localization are not changed by absorption, and manifest the growing impact of weak localization with t.Comment: RevTex 16 pages, 12 figures; to appear in special issue of J. Phys. A on quantum chaotic scatterin

Three-dimensional localization of ultracold atoms in an optical disordered potential

We report a study of three-dimensional (3D) localization of ultracold atoms suspended against gravity, and released in a 3D optical disordered potential with short correlation lengths in all directions. We observe density profiles composed of a steady localized part and a diffusive part. Our observations are compatible with the self-consistent theory of Anderson localization, taking into account the specific features of the experiment, and in particular the broad energy distribution of the atoms placed in the disordered potential. The localization we observe cannot be interpreted as trapping of particles with energy below the classical percolation threshold.Comment: published in Nature Physics; The present version is the initial manuscript (unchanged compared to version 1); The published version is available online at http://www.nature.com/nphys/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nphys2256.htm

The Self-Trapping Line of the Holstein Molecular Crystal Model in One Dimension

The ground state of the Holstein molecular crystal model in one dimension is studied using the Global-Local variational method, analyzing in particular the total energy, kinetic energy, phonon energy, and interaction energy over a broad region of the polaron parameter space. Through the application of objective criteria, a unique curve is identified that simply, accurately, and robustly locates the self-trapping transition separating small polaron and large polaron behavior