Stokes parameters for light scattering from a Faraday-active sphere

We present an exact calculation for the scattering of light from a single sphere made of Faraday-active material, to first order in the external magnetic field. We use a recent expression for the T-matrix of a Mie scatterer in a magnetic field to compute the Stokes parameters in single scattering that describe completely flux and polarization of the scattered light.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures, Latex, accepted for publication in JQSR

Magneto-chiral scattering of light: a new optical manifestation of chirality

We have investigated multiple scattering of light in systems subject to magneto-chiral (MC) effects. Our medium consists of magneto-optically active dipoles placed in a chiral geometry under the influence of an external magnetic field. We have calculated, for the first time, the total and the differential scattering MC cross sections of this system, explicitely showing that they are proportional to pseudoscalar quantities. This provides a new optical measure for the degree of chirality, a pseudoscalar g, of an arbitrary geometrical configuration of scatterers based on its scattering properties. We have calculated g for some simple chiral systems and we have even used it to probe the degree of optical chirality of random systems. Finally, we have compared $g$ with other recently defined chiral measures in literature.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures, RevTeX. Submitted to PR

Transverse confinement of waves in 3D random media

We study the transmission of a tightly focused beam through a thick slab of 3D disordered medium in the Anderson localized regime. We show that the transverse profile of the transmitted beam exhibits clear signatures of Anderson localization and that its mean square width provides a direct measure of the localization length. For a short incident pulse, the width is independent of absorption.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Weak localization of short pulses in disordered waveguides

We consider the phenomenon of weak localization of a short wave pulse in a quasi-1D disordered waveguide. We show that the long-time decay of the average transmission coefficient is not purely exponential, in contradiction with predictions of the diffusion theory. The diffusion theory breaks down completely for times exceeding the Heisenberg time. We also study the survival probability of a quantum particle in a disordered waveguide and compare our results with previous calculations using the super-symmetric nonlinear sigma model.Comment: 4 pages, to appear in Acta Phys. Pol. A (Proceedings of the 2nd Workshop on Quantum Chaos and Localization Phenomena, May 19-22, 2005, Warsaw

Role of mean free path in spatial phase correlation and nodal screening

We study the spatial correlation function of the phase and its derivative, and related, fluctuations of topological charge, in two and three dimensional random media described by Gaussian statistics. We investigate their dependence on the scattering mean free path.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures. submitted to Europhys. Let

Dynamics of weakly localized waves

We develop a transport theory to describe the dynamics of (weakly) localized waves in a quasi-1D tube geometry both in reflection and in transmission. We compare our results to recent experiments with microwaves, and to other theories such as random matrix theory and supersymmetric theory.Comment: RevTeX, 4 pages, 2 figure

Radiation of Optical Angular Momentum by a Dipole Source inside a Magneto-optical Environment

Radiation of electromagnetic energy by electric or magnetic multipole sources can be modified by their local environment. In this work we demonstrate that a magneto-optical environment of an unpolarized dipole source induces the radiation of angular momentum into space. This radiation benefits from Purcell-enhancement.Comment: 4 figures, 1 Table, submitte

Dynamics of Anderson localization in open 3D media

We develop a self-consistent theoretical approach to the dynamics of Anderson localization in open three-dimensional (3D) disordered media. The approach allows us to study time-dependent transmission and reflection, and the distribution of decay rates of quasi-modes of 3D disordered slabs near the Anderson mobility edge.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure