Stimulated light backscattering from exciton Bose condensate

A new effect—light backscattering from exciton Bose-condensate—is considered. This effect is connected with the photoinduced coherent recombination of two excitons in the condensate with the production of two photons with opposite momenta. The effect of two-exciton coherent recombination leads also to the appearance of the second-order coherence in exciton luminescence connected with squeezing between photon states with opposite momenta. The estimations given for Cu₂O and GaAs excitons show that the effect of stimulated light backscattering can be detected experimentally. Moreover, in the system of 2D excitons in coupled quantum wells, the effect of stimulated anomalous light transmission must also take place. Anologous effects can also take place in systems of Bose-condensed atoms in excited (but metastable) states.     

Exciton polaritons and their one-dimensional localization in disordered quantum-well structures

A theory of the Anderson localization of light in randomly arranged ultrathin layers (quantum wells) uniform in lateral dimensions and possessing intrinsic optical resonances is put forward. To solve the multiple-scattering problem, a model of layers with a δ-function resonance dielectric polarization is proposed. The model is an electromagnetic counterpart of the electronic model of zero-radius potentials. Interlayer disorder is included under the assumption of a low average concentration of identical layers in order to calculate analytically the one-and two-photon characteristics of electromagnetic-radiation transport, in particular, the average energy density and the Anderson localization length of light. The analysis is carried out for a structure with randomly distributed quantum wells in which quasi-two-dimensional excitons of different quantum wells are in resonance while their wave functions do not overlap. It is shown that the average electromagnetic field propagates through this disordered structure in the form of polaritons but are produced in exciton reemission between quantum wells. The localization length of light in the polariton spectral region decreases substantially, because the scattering (reflection) of light by individual quantum wells grows near the excitonic resonance.     

The interference component of low-coherent radiation backscattering

An interference component of backscattering of low-coherent radiation is calculated for the first time based on the previously developed approach consisting of direct simulation of the Bethe-Salpeter equation in terms of the Monte Carlo method. It is shown that, upon an increase in the spatial coherence length, it plays the role of the characteristic scale of the backscattering instead of the transport length. The effect of localization of backscattering of an ultrashort pulse in relation to the penetration depth is revealed. Both the theory and the numerical simulation predict, in accordance with experiment, a considerable broadening of the peak of coherent backscattering with decreasing coherence length, which significantly extends the application field of the effect, especially in biomedical diagnostics.     

随机介质的相干背散射与局域化研究

研究了不同尺度参数和粒子浓度下的ZnO随机介质相干背散射强度的分布规律,采用时域有限差分法分析了不同浓度随机介质的光场能量空间分布,预测了随机激光器阈值的高低。结果表明:同一折射率的介质随着介质尺寸的增大,相干背散射的带宽变窄,局域化参量kl值相应增大,使得局域化程度呈较大幅度减弱趋势;并且随着介质浓度的增加,相干背散射的带宽变宽,局域化程度增强,阈值降低。相干背散射有着光子局域化的先期特征,现在已成为研究光子局域化出现与否的基本判断依据,对研究光子局域化以及随机激光器具有重要意义。     

Magnetic field effects on coherent backscattering of light

We have studied the influence of magneto-optical Faraday rotation on coherent backscattering of light experimentally, theoretically and by computer simulations of Monte-Carlo type. The consistency of these three approaches reveals new aspects of the propagation of vector waves in turbid media with and without Faraday rotation. Experimentally, we have demonstrated that the Faraday rotation may almost completely destroy the reciprocity of light paths. However, as shown by the simulations, the cone of coherent backscattering may not only be destroyed but also shifted off the exact backscattering direction, parallel to the magnetic field, as long as the amount of circular polarization is not completely destroyed by the multiple scattering. The relationship between coherent backscattering, depolarization and Faraday rotation are explained by a simple path model of vector waves. This leads to a new characteristic correlation length required to properly describe the influence of Faraday rotation on multiple light scattering. Received 28 January 2000     

Anisotropic weak localization of light

We have observed angular anisotropy in weak localization of light from highly scattering, orientationally ordered, nematic liquid crystals. This demonstration of angular anisotropy in a multiple-scattering interference phenomenon was facilitated by a light scattering instrument with extraordinary angular resolution. The measured anisotropies were consistent with a simple model of coherent backscattering generalized for propagation-direction dependent mean free paths.     

Weak localization of light in a disordered microcavity

We report the observation of weak localization of light in a semiconductor microcavity. The intrinsic disorder in a microcavity leads to multiple scattering and hence to static speckle. We show that averaging over realizations of the disorder reveals a coherent backscattering cone that has a coherent enhancement factor > or =2, as required by reciprocity. The coherent backscattering cone is observed along a ring-shaped pattern due to confinement by the microcavity.     

Ultimate degree of residual polarization of incoherently backscattered light for multiple scattering of linearly polarized light

By invoking ideas about the distribution of the optical paths of partial components of the scattered field, we obtain an expression for estimating the degree of residual polarization of light that is incoherently backscattered from a disordered multiply scattering semi-infinite medium illuminated by linearly polarized light. In the backscattering regime, the depolarization length of the linearly polarized light in the disordered medium becomes smaller with the passage from the isotropic to anisotropic scattering. Experiments with model media featuring substantially anisotropic scattering (the anisotropy parameter of 0.90 ≤ g ≤ 0.95) demonstrated that for backscattering of linearly polarized light, the depolarization length is close to the transport length of the scattering medium.     

Enhanced retroreflectance effects in the reflection of light from randomly rough surfaces

A review is made of theoretical and experimental work on retroreflection enhancements in the diffuse component of light elastically reflected from randomly rough surfaces. These effects are seen as a narrow peak in the angular distribution of the intensity of diffusely reflected light which is centered about the direction for reflected light motion antiparallel to the original incident beam. This peak is observed in the scattering of light from many different types of rough surfaces and has been studied in fields as diverse as solid state physics, astronomy, geophysics, meterology and radar. Work covering all of these fields will be presented in this review.

Retroreflection enhancements arise both from shadow casting properties of surface irregularities and from the phase coherence of retroreflected light. These mechanisms can act to create retroreflection enhancements from rough surfaces of dielectric and/or metallic compositions and of surface disorders characterizable on length scales which are large, comparable to or small compared to the wavelength of the scattered light.

Specific discussions will be presented of three types of enhanced retroreflectance: (1) A treatment of the optical glory and Heiligenschein phenomena which are concerned with the meterological and geophysical study of light reflected from clouds and terraine will be given. (2) The theory of the opposition effect, encountered in astronomy as an enhanced retroreflection in the light scattered from atmosphereless planets and space debris, will be used to provide a theoretical basis to understand shadowing effects. (3) A recently discovered phenomenon of enhanced retroreflection from weakly rough metallic mirrors, associated with the Anderson localization of surface waves, is also presented. This last phenomenon and its relationship to the study of the Anderson localization of surface waves will be emphasized throughout our discussions.

Similar enhancement effects in the scattering of acoustic waves from rough surfaces and a brief outline of some recent work on optical backscattering enhancements due to the Anderson localization of bulk polariton modes, is also presented.     

Influence of the boundary of a medium on the coherent backscattering of light

The multiple scattering of light from an inhomogeneous medium occupying a half-space is investigated on the basis of the Bethe-Salpeter equation. The latter is integrated over the spatial variables to obtain an identity having the significance of the energy balance of the incident and scattered radiations. This relation is then used to derive a length parameter that plays the role of the Milne interpolation length. The use of this parameter in the method of mirror images for describing the shape of the coherent backscattering peak in isotropic single scattering yields results in almost perfect agreement with the predictions of the Milne theory. The application of the given approach for an anisotropic single-scattering diagram yields quantitative agreement of the theory with experiments on the angular dependence of coherent backscattering. The new approach is generalized to an electromagnetic (vector) field, and backscattering polarization effects are investigated. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 116, 1912–1928 (December 1999)     

Magnetic field enhanced coherence length in cold atomic gases

We study the effect of an external magnetic field on coherent backscattering of light from a cold rubidium vapor. We observe that the backscattering enhancement factor can be increased with B. This surprising behavior shows that the coherence length of the system can be increased by adding a magnetic field, in sharp contrast with usual situations. This is mainly due to the lifting of the degeneracy between Zeeman sublevels. We find good agreement between our experimental data and a full Monte Carlo simulation, taking into account the magneto-optical effects and the geometry of the atomic cloud.     

Energy Transfer and Trapping in Rigid Solutions of Aromatic Polymers

Energy transfer by excitons is now well established in films and solutions of aromatic polymers. Excitons in disordered systems can be considered as electronically excited states, which are transferred between the light absorbing groups in a random hopping process (the same is true in molecular crystals if, because of thermal vibrations, the coherence length of the exciton waves approaches the lattice constant and consequently the band model of the excitons breaks down).     

Coherent backscattering and localization in a self-attracting random walk model

Intensity propagation of waves in dilute 2D and 3D disordered systems is well described by a random walk path-model. In strongly scattering media, however, this model is not quite correct because of interference effects like coherent backscattering. In this letter, coherent backscattering is taken into account by a modified, self-attracting random walk. Straightforward simulations of this model essentially reproduce the results of current theories on “non-classical” transport behavior, i.e. Anderson localization in 1D and 2D for any amount of disorder and a phase transition from weak to strong localization in 3D. However, in the strongly scattering regime corrections are necessary to account for the finite number of light modes due to their non-vanishing lateral extention. Within our model this correction leads to the observation that strong localization does not take place. Received 17 September 2001     

Collective phenomena in cold indirect excitons

Due to their long lifetimes, indirect excitons can cool to below the temperature of quantum degeneracy. This gives an opportunity to experimentally study cold composite bosons. Both theoretically predicted phenomena and phenomena that have not been anticipated were observed in a cold gas of indirect excitons. In this contribution, we overview our studies of cold indirect excitons over the past decade, presenting spontaneous coherence and condensation of excitons, spatially modulated exciton state, long-range spin currents and spin textures, and exciton localization–delocalization transitions.     

Light localization signatures in backscattering from periodic disordered media

The backscattering line shape is analytically predicted for thick disordered medium films where, remarkably, the medium configuration is periodic along the direction perpendicular to the incident light. A blunt triangular peak is found to emerge on the sharp top. The phenomenon roots in the coexistence of quasi-1D localization and 2D extended states.     

Low-coherence enhanced backscattering beyond diffusion

An analytical theory for coherent backscattering (CBS) of low-coherence light is presented. An expression linking the CBS profile to the radial distribution of the incoherent backscattered light is derived when the incident light is partially spatially coherent. The backscattered snake light, which has experienced exactly two large-angle scatterings, is taken into account together with the diffuse light in the analysis. Monte Carlo simulations demonstrate that the model describes well the CBS profile as long as the spatial coherence length, L(c), of the incident beam is larger than the scattering mean free path of light in the medium. The intensity of the enhanced backscattered light in the exact backscattering direction and the width of the CBS cone are found to be proportional to L(c) and L(c)(-1), respectively, in the limit of small L(c).     

Light localization signatures in backscattering from periodic disordered media

The backscattering line shape is analytically predicted for thick disordered medium films where, remarkably, the medium configuration is periodic along the direction perpendicular to the incident light. A blunt triangular peak is found to emerge on the sharp top. The phenomenon roots in the coexistence of quasi-1D localization and 2D extended states. The text was submitted by the author in English.     

Fluoreszenz lokalisierter Exzitonen in Anthrazenkristallen bei Anregung mit α-Teilchen

The time dependence of the scintillation light originating from free and lokalized excitons was analysed by a method described by Thomas and Bollinger. The results give information about the transfer of the excitation energy and show that the lifetime of lokalized excitons is reduced with decreasing temperature. This effect is compared with results which Tomura and Takahashi obtained for free excitons in anthracene crystals.     

神光Ⅲ原型全孔径背向散射测量系统研制及应用

为了测量激光与等离子体相互作用产生的散射光份额,获得黑腔耦合效率实验中的激光注入率,研制了基于神光Ⅲ原型装置的全孔径背向散射测量系统。该系统利用聚焦透镜收集散射光,通过离轴抛物面镜进行缩束,并采用二向色镜将散射光分为两个支路后分别进行受激布里渊散射和受激拉曼散射光的能量、时间过程和光谱测量。实验测量了有、无束匀滑条件下的散射光份额。结果表明,在当前实验条件下,通过束匀滑可有效降低散射光份额,提高激光注入率。     

Decoherence of excitons in multichromophore systems: thermal line broadening and destruction of superradiant emission

We study the temperature-dependent dephasing rate of excitons in chains of chromophores, accounting for scattering on static disorder as well as acoustic phonons in the host matrix. From this we find a power-law temperature dependence of the absorption linewidth, in excellent quantitative agreement with experiments on dye aggregates. We also propose a relation between the linewidth and the exciton coherence length imposed by the phonons. The results indicate that the much debated steep rise of the fluorescence lifetime of pseudoisocyanine aggregates above 40 K results from the fact that this coherence length drops below the localization length imposed by static disorder.