English

L\'evy flights of photons with infinite mean free path

Optics 2021-03-19 v2 Atomic Physics Data Analysis, Statistics and Probability

Abstract

Multiple scattering of light by resonant vapor is characterized by L\'evy-type superdiffusion with a single-step size distribution p(x)1/x1+αp(x)\propto 1/x^{1+\alpha}. We investigate L\'evy flight of light in a hot rubidium vapor collisional-broadened by 50 torr of He gas. The frequent collisions produce Lorentzian absorptive and emissive profiles with α<1\alpha<1 and a corresponding divergent mean step size. We extract the L\'evy parameter α0.5\alpha\approx0.5 in a multiple scattering regime from radial profile of the transmission and from violation of the Ohm's law. The measured radial transmission profile and the total diffusive transmission curves are well reproduced by numerical simulations for Lorentzian line shapes.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2008.03506,
  title  = {L\'evy flights of photons with infinite mean free path},
  author = {Michelle O. Araújo and Thierry Passerat de Silans and Robin Kaiser},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2008.03506},
  year   = {2021}
}

Comments

7 pages, 5 figures