Anderson localization and nonlinearity in one-dimensional disordered photonic lattices

We experimentally investigate the evolution of linear and nonlinear waves in a realization of the Anderson model using disordered one-dimensional waveguide lattices. Two types of localized eigenmodes, flat-phased and staggered, are directly measured. Nonlinear perturbations enhance localization in one type and induce delocalization in the other. In a complementary approach, we study the evolution on short time scales of delta-like wave packets in the presence of disorder. A transition from ballistic wave packet expansion to exponential (Anderson) localization is observed. We also find an intermediate regime in which the ballistic and localized components coexist while diffusive dynamics is absent. Evidence is found for a faster transition into localization under nonlinear conditions.     

Quantum particles from classical statistics

Quantum particles and classical particles are described in a common setting of classical statistical physics. The property of a particle being “classical” or “quantum” ceases to be a basic conceptual difference. The dynamics differs, however, between quantum and classical particles. We describe position, motion and correlations of a quantum particle in terms of observables in a classical statistical ensemble. On the other side, we also construct explicitly the quantum formalism with wave function and Hamiltonian for classical particles. For a suitable time evolution of the classical probabilities and a suitable choice of observables all features of a quantum particle in a potential can be derived from classical statistics, including interference and tunneling. Besides conceptual advances, the treatment of classical and quantum particles in a common formalism could lead to interesting cross‐fertilization between classical statistics and quantum physics.     

Diagnostics of many-particle electronic states: Non-stationary currents and residual charge dynamics

We propose the method for identifying many particle electronic states in the system of coupled quantum dots (impurities) with Coulomb correlations. We demonstrate that different electronic states can be distinguished by the complex analysis of localized charge dynamics and non-stationary characteristics. We show that localized charge time evolution strongly depends on the properties of initial state and analyze different time scales in charge kinetics for initially prepared singlet and triplet states. We reveal the conditions for existence of charge trapping effects governed by the selection rules for electron transitions between the states with different occupation numbers.     

Transport length scales in disordered graphene-based materials: strong localization regimes and dimensionality effects

We report on a numerical study of quantum transport in disordered two dimensional graphene and graphene nanoribbons. By using the Kubo and the Landauer approaches, transport length scales in the diffusive (mean free path and charge mobilities) and localized regimes (localization lengths) are computed, assuming a short range disorder (Anderson-type). The electronic systems are found to undergo a conventional Anderson localization in the zero-temperature limit, in agreement with localization scaling theory. Localization lengths in weakly disordered ribbons are found to strongly fluctuate depending on their edge symmetry, but always remain several orders of magnitude smaller than those computed for 2D graphene for the same disorder strength. This pinpoints the role of transport dimensionality and edge effects.     

Some mathematical aspects of Anderson localization: boundary effect,multimodality, and bifurcation

Anderson localization is a famous wave phenomenon that describes the absence of diffusion of waves in a disordered medium. Here we generalize the landscape theory of Anderson localization to general elliptic operators and complex boundary conditions using a probabilistic approach, and further investigate some mathematical aspects of Anderson localization that are rarely discussed before. First, we observe that under the Neumann boundary condition, the low energy quantum states are localized on the boundary of the domain with high probability. We provide a detailed explanation of this phenomenon using the concept of extended subregions and obtain an analytical expression of this probability in the one-dimensional case. Second, we find that the quantum states may be localized in multiple different subregions with high probability in the one-dimensional case and we derive an explicit expression of this probability for various boundary conditions. Finally, we examine a bifurcation phenomenon of the localization subregion as the strength of disorder varies. The critical threshold of bifurcation is analytically computed based on a toy model and the dependence of the critical threshold on model parameters is analyzed.     

Klein Paradox and Disorder-Induced Delocalization of Dirac Quasiparticles in One-Dimensional Systems

Dirac particle penetration is studied theoretically with Dirac equation in one-dimensional systems. We investigate a one-dimensional system with N barriers where both barrier height and well width are constants randomly distributed in certain range. The one-parameter scaling theory for nonrelatiyistic particles is still valid for massive Dirac particles. In the same disorder sample, we find that the localization length of relativistic particles is always larger than that of nonrelativistic particles and the transmission coefficient related to incident particle in both cases fits the form T～ exp（-αL）. More interesting, massless relativistic particles are entirely delocalized no matter how big the energy of incident particles is.     

Particle localization and hyperuniformity of polymer‐grafted nanoparticle materials

The properties of materials largely reflect the degree and character of the localization of the molecules comprising them so that the study and characterization of particle localization has central significance in both fundamental science and material design. Soft materials are often comprised of deformable molecules and many of their unique properties derive from the distinct nature of particle localization. We study localization in a model material composed of soft particles, hard nanoparticles with grafted layers of polymers, where the molecular characteristics of the grafted layers allow us to “tune” the softness of their interactions. Soft particles are particular interesting because spatial localization can occur such that density fluctuations on large length scales are suppressed, while the material is disordered at intermediate length scales; such materials are called “disordered hyperuniform”. We use molecular dynamics simulation to study a liquid composed of polymer‐grafted nanoparticles (GNP), which exhibit a reversible self‐assembly into dynamic polymeric GNP structures below a temperature threshold, suggesting a liquid‐gel transition. We calculate a number of spatial and temporal correlations and we find a significant suppression of density fluctuations upon cooling at large length scales, making these materials promising for the practical fabrication of “hyperuniform” materials.     

Behavior of a quantum particle in contact with a classical heat bath

We investigate the behavior of a two-level quantum system in contact with a classical heat bath, e.g., a solute particle with internal degrees of freedom immersed in a solvent of massive particles. Using a combination of analytical and numerical methods, we obtain precise information about localization, time-displaced correlation functions, and the frequency-dependent susceptibility of such solute particles. We find that these quantities can have a strong dependence on the density of the solvent fluid, with the maximum changes from the behavior of the corresponding isolated quantum system occurring in many cases at very low densities. We compare the exact results with those obtained by path integral Monte Carlo. There is good agreement with the imaginary time correlations, but analytic continuation to real time proves elusive: even with the best numerical data on the former, we can only get very gross features of the latter.     

Relativistic aberrations in quantum phase space

A phase space treatment of special relativity of quantum systems is developed. In this approach a quantum particle remains localized if subject to inertial transformations, the localization occurring in a finite phase space area. Unlike in the non-relativistic case, relativistic transformations generally distort the phase space distribution function, being equivalent to aberrations in optics. The relativistic aberrations of massive particles are in general different from those of optical images.     

Routes towards Anderson-like localization of Bose-Einstein condensates in disordered optical lattices

We investigate, both experimentally and theoretically, possible routes towards Anderson-like localization of Bose-Einstein condensates in disordered potentials. The dependence of this quantum interference effect on the nonlinear interactions and the shape of the disorder potential is investigated. Experiments with an optical lattice and a superimposed disordered potential reveal the lack of Anderson localization. A theoretical analysis shows that this absence is due to the large length scale of the disorder potential as well as its screening by the nonlinear interactions. Further analysis shows that incommensurable superlattices should allow for the observation of the crossover from the nonlinear screening regime to the Anderson localized case within realistic experimental parameters.     

Decoherence and disorder in quantum walks: from ballistic spread to localization

We investigate the impact of decoherence and static disorder on the dynamics of quantum particles moving in a periodic lattice. Our experiment relies on the photonic implementation of a one-dimensional quantum walk. The pure quantum evolution is characterized by a ballistic spread of a photon's wave packet along 28 steps. By applying controlled time-dependent operations we simulate three different environmental influences on the system, resulting in a fast ballistic spread, a diffusive classical walk, and the first Anderson localization in a discrete quantum walk architecture.     

Periodic-orbit theory of anderson localization on graphs

We present the first quantum system where Anderson localization is completely described within periodic-orbit theory. The model is a quantum graph analogous to an aperiodic Kronig-Penney model in one dimension. The exact expression for the probability to return to an initially localized state is computed in terms of classical trajectories. It saturates to a finite value due to localization, while the diagonal approximation decays diffusively. Our theory is based on the identification of families of isometric orbits. The coherent periodic-orbit sums within these families, and the summation over all families, are performed analytically using advanced combinatorial methods.     

Influence of weak nonlinearity on the 1D Anderson model with long-range correlated disorder

We investigate theoretically the nature of the states and the localization properties in a one-dimensional Anderson model with long-range correlated disorder and weak nonlinearity. Using the stationary discrete nonlinear Schrödinger equation, we calculate the disorder-averaged logarithm of the transmittance and the localization length in the fixed input case in a numerically exact manner. Unlike in many previous studies, we strictly fix the intensity of the incident wave and calculate the localization length as a function of other parameters. We also calculate the wave functions in a given disorder configuration. In the linear case, flat phased localized states appear near the bottom of the band and staggered localized states appear near the top of the band, while a continuum of extended states appears near the band center. We find that the focusing Kerr-type nonlinearity enhances the Anderson localization of flat phased states and suppresses that of staggered states. We observe that there exists a perfect symmetry relationship for the localization length between focusing and defocusing nonlinearities. Above a critical value of the strength of nonlinearity, delocalization due to the long-range correlations of disorder is destroyed and all states become localized.     

Tailoring Anderson localization by disorder correlations in 1D speckle potentials

We study Anderson localization of single particles in continuous, correlated, one-dimensional disordered potentials. We show that tailored correlations can completely change the energy-dependence of the localization length. By considering two suitable models of disorder, we explicitly show that disorder correlations can lead to a nonmonotonic behavior of the localization length versus energy. Numerical calculations performed within the transfer-matrix approach and analytical calculations performed within the phase formalism up to order three show excellent agreement and demonstrate the effect. We finally show how the nonmonotonic behavior of the localization length with energy can be observed using expanding ultracold-atom gases.     

The quantum mechanics of particle-correlation measurements in high-energy heavy-ion collisions

The Hanbury Brown–Twiss (HBT) effect in two-particle correlations is a fundamental wave phenomenon that occurs at the sensitive elements of detectors; it is one of the few processes in elementary particle detection that depends on the wave mechanics of the produced particles. We analyze here, within a quantum mechanical framework for computing correlations among high-energy particles, how particle detectors produce the HBT effect. We focus on the role played by the wave functions of particles created in collisions and the sensitivity of the HBT effect to the arrival times of pairs at the detectors, and show that the two detector elements give an enhanced signal when the single-particle wave functions of the detected particles overlap at both elements within the characteristic atomic transition time of the elements. The measured pair correlation function is reduced when the delay in arrival times between pairs at the detectors is of order of or larger than the transition time.     

Localized and extended states in a disordered trap

We study Anderson localization in a disordered potential combined with an inhomogeneous trap. We show that the spectrum displays both localized and extended states, which coexist at intermediate energies. In the region of coexistence, we find that the extended states result from confinement by the trap and are weakly affected by the disorder. Conversely, the localized states correspond to eigenstates of the disordered potential, which are only affected by the trap via an inhomogeneous energy shift. These results are relevant to disordered quantum gases and we propose a realistic scheme to observe the coexistence of localized and extended states in these systems.     

The Bootstrap Multiscale Analysis for the Multi-particle Anderson Model

We extend the bootstrap multi-scale analysis developed by Germinet and Klein to the multi-particle Anderson model, obtaining Anderson localization, dynamical localization, and decay of eigenfunction correlations.     

Investigation of localized surface plasmons with the photon scanning tunneling microscope

A Photon Scanning Tunneling Microscope (PSTM) with probe-sample distance control by electron tunneling is used to probe the localized surface-plasmon fields of individual nanometric silver particles. As samples, conventional island films produced by thermal evaporation and regular particle arrays produced by an electron-beam-lithography-based technique, respectively, are used. In either case the strength and spatial localization of the surface-plasmon fields strongly depend on the excitation wavelength. The results are interpreted as different resonance frequencies of individual particles or of different sample areas. On regular arrays consisting of particles with a smallest diameter of 40 nm, the PSTM maps represent the plasmon field strength spatially resolved for individual particles.     

Delocalization and Heisenberg's uncertainty relation

In the one-dimensional Anderson model the eigenstates are localized for arbitrarily small amounts of disorder. In contrast, the Aubry-André model with its quasiperiodic potential shows a transition from extended to localized states. The difference between the two models becomes particularly apparent in phase space where Heisenberg's uncertainty relation imposes a finite resolution. Our analysis points to the relevance of the coupling between momentum eigenstates at weak potential strength for the delocalization of a quantum particle. Received 3 May 2002 / Received in final form 2 October 2002 Published online 29 November 2002