2016/02/29 by Benoît Gérardin, J. Laurent, Jérôme Laurent +4
Computer Science · Earth and Planetary Sciences · Physics and Astronomy · #Dispersion (optics) #Interferometry #Neural Networks and Reservoir Computing #Optics #Physics #Quantum mechanics #Random lasers and scattering media #Scattering #Seismic Waves and Analysis #Wave packet #Wave propagation #cond-mat.dis-nn #physics.optics
paper · pdf · doi:10.1121/1.4950178
published as Phys. Rev. B 94, 014209 (2016) · 12 pages, 9 figures
openalex publication_date 2016/04/01 · arxiv created 2016/07/26 · arxiv updated 2017/08/23 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
Waves propagating in complex media typically undergo diffraction and multiple scattering at all the inhomogeneities they encounter. As a consequence, a wave packet suffers from strong temporal and spatial dispersion while propagating through a scattering medium. This wave scattering is often seen as a nightmare in wave physics whether it be for focusing, imaging, or communication purposes. Controlling wave propagation through complex systems is thus of fundamental interest in many areas, ranging from optics or acoustics to medical imaging or telecommunications. Here, we study the propagation of elastic waves in a cavity and a disordered waveguide by means of laser interferometry. We demonstrate how the direct experimental access to the information stored in the scattering matrix of these systems allows us to selectively excite stationary scattering states and wave packets that follow particle-like bouncing patterns in transmission through (or in reflection from) a complex scattering landscape. Due to their limited dispersion, these particle-like scattering states will be crucially relevant for all applications involving selective wave focusing and efficient information transfer through complex media.