2014/10/31 by S. E. Skipetrov, I. M. Sokolov
Physics and Astronomy · #Cold Atom Physics and Bose-Einstein Condensates #Quantum optics and atomic interactions #Random lasers and scattering media #cond-mat.quant-gas #physics.atom-ph #physics.optics
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.114.053902
published as Phys. Rev. Lett. 114, 053902 (2015) · 5+8 pages, 4+8 figures, supplemental material added
arxiv created 2015/01/09 · openalex publication_date 2015/02/05 · arxiv updated 2015/02/09 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We discover a transition from extended to localized quasimodes for light in a gas of immobile two-level atoms in a magnetic field. The transition takes place either upon increasing the number density of atoms in a strong field or upon increasing the field at a high enough density. It has many characteristic features of a disorder-driven (Anderson) transition but is strongly influenced by near-field interactions between atoms and the anisotropy of the atomic medium induced by the magnetic field.