Three-Dimensional Anderson Localization of Ultracold Matter
Quantum Gases
2011-10-12 v2 Disordered Systems and Neural Networks
Atomic Physics
Abstract
Anderson localization (AL) is a ubiquitous interference phenomenon in which waves fail to propagate in a disordered medium. We observe three-dimensional AL of noninteracting ultracold matter by allowing a spin-polarized atomic Fermi gas to expand into a disordered potential. A two-component density distribution emerges consisting of an expanding mobile component and a nondiffusing localized component. We extract a mobility edge that increases with the disorder strength, whereas the thermally averaged localization length is shown to decrease with disorder strength and increase with particle energy. These measurements provide a benchmark for more sophisticated theories of AL.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1105.5368,
title = {Three-Dimensional Anderson Localization of Ultracold Matter},
author = {S. S. Kondov and W. R. McGehee and J. J. Zirbel and B. DeMarco},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1105.5368},
year = {2011}
}