Coalescence of Anderson-localized modes at an exceptional point in 2D random media.

In non-Hermitian settings, the particular position at which two eigenstates coalesce in the complex plane under a variation of a physical parameter is called an exceptional point. An open disordered system is a special class of non-Hermitian system, where the degree of scattering directly controls the confinement of the modes. Herein a non-perturbative theory is proposed which describes the evolution of modes when the permittivity distribution of a 2D open dielectric system is modified, thereby facilitating to steer individual eigenstates to such a non-Hermitian degeneracy. The method is used to predict the position of such an exceptional point between two Anderson-localized states in a disordered scattering medium. We observe that the accuracy of the prediction depends on the number of localized states accounted for. Such an exceptional point is experimentally accessible in practically relevant disordered photonic systems.

Unveiling Extreme Anisotropy in Elastic Structured Media.

Periodic structures can be engineered to exhibit unique properties observed at symmetry points, such as zero group velocity, Dirac cones, and saddle points; identifying these and the nature of the associated modes from a direct reading of the dispersion surfaces is not straightforward, especially in three dimensions or at high frequencies when several dispersion surfaces fold back in the Brillouin zone. A recently proposed asymptotic high-frequency homogenization theory is applied to a challenging time-domain experiment with elastic waves in a pinned metallic plate. The prediction of a narrow high-frequency spectral region where the effective medium tensor dramatically switches from positive definite to indefinite is confirmed experimentally; a small frequency shift of the pulse carrier results in two distinct types of highly anisotropic modes. The underlying effective equation mirrors this behavior with a change in form from elliptic to hyperbolic exemplifying the high degree of wave control available and the importance of a simple and effective predictive model.

Time-driven superoscillations with negative refraction.

The flat-lens concept based on negative refraction proposed by Veselago in 1968 has been mostly investigated in the monochromatic regime. It was recently recognized that time development of the superlensing effect discovered in 2000 by Pendry is yet to be assessed and may spring surprises: Time-dependent illumination could improve the spatial resolution of the focusing. We investigate dynamics of flexural wave focusing by a 45°-tilted square lattice of circular holes drilled in a duralumin plate. Time-resolved experiments reveal that the focused image shrinks with time below the diffraction limit, with a lateral resolution increasing from 0.8λ to 0.35λ, whereas focusing under harmonic excitation remains diffraction limited. Modal analysis reveals the role in pulse reconstruction of radiating lens resonances, which repeatedly self-synchronize at the focal spot to shape a superoscillating field.

Taming random lasers through active spatial control of the pump.

Active control of the spatial pump profile is proposed to exercise control over random laser emission. We demonstrate numerically the selection of any desired lasing mode from the emission spectrum. An iterative optimization method is employed, first in the regime of strong scattering where modes are spatially localized and can be easily selected using local pumping. Remarkably, this method works efficiently even in the weakly scattering regime, where strong spatial overlap of the modes precludes spatial selectivity. A complex optimized pump profile is found, which selects the desired lasing mode at the expense of others, thus demonstrating the potential of pump shaping for robust and controllable single mode operation of a random laser.

Experimental observation of speckle instability in Kerr random media.

In a disordered nonlinear medium the transmitted speckle pattern was predicted to become unstable as a result of the positive feedback between intensity fluctuations and local variations of the refractive index. We show experimental evidence of speckle instability for light transversally scattered in a liquid crystal cell, where a two-dimensional controlled disorder is imprinted by suitable illumination of a photoconductive wall and nonlinearity is obtained through optical reorientation of the liquid crystal molecules. The speckle pattern spontaneously oscillates at discrete frequencies above a critical threshold, whose dependence on the scattering mean free path confirms the crucial role of disorder in the feedback process.

Quasimodes of a chaotic elastic cavity with increasing local losses.

We report noninvasive measurements of the complex field of elastic quasimodes of a silicon wafer with chaotic shape. The amplitude and phase spatial distribution of the flexural modes are directly obtained by Fourier transform of time measurements. We investigate the crossover from real mode to complex-valued quasimode, when absorption is progressively increased on one edge of the wafer. The complexness parameter, which characterizes the degree to which a resonance state is complex valued, is measured for nonoverlapping resonances, and is found to be proportional to the nonhomogeneous contribution to the line broadening of the resonance. A simple two-level model based on the effective Hamiltonian formalism supports our experimental results.

Coupling and level repulsion in the localized regime: from isolated to quasiextended modes.

We study the interaction of Anderson localized states in an open 1D random system by varying the internal structure of the sample. As the frequencies of two states come close, they are transformed into multiply peaked quasiextended modes. Level repulsion is observed experimentally and explained within a model of coupled resonators. The spectral and spatial evolution of the coupled modes is described in terms of the coupling coefficient and Q factors of resonators.

Lasing with resonant feedback in weakly scattering random systems.

Laser action in active random media in the weak scattering regime far from Anderson localization is investigated by coupling Maxwell's equations with the rate equations of a four-level atomic system. We report systematic lasing action with resonant feedback and show that the lasing modes mostly consist of traveling waves spatially extended over the whole system. Next we address the question of the origin of the feedback mechanism in such a system where no disorder-induced long-lived resonances are available, and present strong evidence that they correspond to the quasimodes of the passive system. This in turn provides an original way to access the spatial distribution of the quasimodes of a non-Hermitian system.

Extended quasimodes within nominally localized random waveguides.

We have measured the spatial and spectral dependence of the microwave field inside an open absorbing waveguide filled with randomly juxtaposed dielectric slabs in the spectral region in which the average level spacing exceeds the typical level width. Whenever lines overlap in the spectrum, the field exhibits multiple peaks within the sample. Only then is substantial energy found beyond the first half of the sample. When the spectrum throughout the sample is decomposed into a sum of Lorentzian lines plus a broad background, their central frequencies and widths are found to be essentially independent of position. Thus, this decomposition provides the electromagnetic quasimodes underlying the extended field in nominally localized samples. These quasimodes may exhibit multiple peaks in space when they overlap spectrally.

Localized modes in open one-dimensional dissipative random systems.

We consider, both theoretically and experimentally, the excitation and detection of the localized quasimodes (resonances) in an open dissipative 1D random system. We show that, even though the amplitude of transmission drops dramatically so that it cannot be observed in the presence of small losses, resonances are still clearly exhibited in reflection. Surprisingly, small losses essentially improve conditions for the detection of resonances in reflection as compared with the lossless case. An algorithm is proposed and tested to retrieve sample parameters and resonance characteristics inside the random system exclusively from reflection measurements.

Localized modes in random arrays of cylinders.

Anderson localization of classical waves in random arrays of dielectric cylinders is numerically investigated as a function of the distribution of their diameters. We show that using polydispersed resonant scatterers increases the localization length, while using identical resonant scatterers fosters Anderson localization. We discuss this collective process and link it to the effect of proximity resonances that has been studied in the case of a small number of resonant scatterers.

Spatial-field correlation: the building block of mesoscopic fluctuations.

The absence of self-averaging in mesoscopic systems is a consequence of long-range intensity correlations. Microwave measurements suggest, and diagrammatic calculations confirm, that the correlation function of the normalized intensity with displacement of the source and detector, Delta R and Delta r, respectively, can be expressed as the sum of three terms, with distinctive spatial dependences. Each term involves only the sum or the product of the square of the field correlation function, F identical with F(2)(E). The leading-order term is the product, F(Delta R)F(Delta r); the next term is proportional to the sum, F(Delta R)+F(Delta r); the third term is proportional to F(Delta R)F(Delta r)+[F(Delta R)+F(Delta r)]+1.

Field and intensity correlation in random media

We have obtained the spectral and spatial field correlation functions, C(E)(Deltaomega) and C(E)(Deltax), respectively, from measurement of the microwave field spectrum at a series of points along a line on the output of a random dielectric medium. C(E)(Deltaomega) and C(E)(Deltax) are shown to be the Fourier transforms, respectively, of the time of flight distribution, obtained from pulsed measurements, and of the specific intensity. Unlike C(E)(Deltaomega), the imaginary part of C(E)(Deltax) is shown to vanish as a result of the isotropy of the correlation function in the output plane. The complex square of the field correlation function gives the short-range or C1 contribution to the intensity correlation function C. Longer-range contributions to the intensity correlation function are obtained directly by subtracting C1 from C and are in good agreement with theory.

Delay-time statistics for diffuse waves.

We formulate a theory for the statistics of the dynamics of a classical wave propagating in random media by analyzing the frequency derivative of the phase under the assumption of a Gaussian process. We calculate frequency correlations and probability distribution functions of dynamical quantities, as well the first non-Gaussian C2 correction. In A. Z. Genack, P. Sebbah, M. Stoytchev, and B. A. van Tiggelen, Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 715 (1999), microwave measurements have been performed to which this theory applies.