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arXiv · 1802.04018

Resonant-light diffusion in a disordered atomic layer

R. Saint-Jalm·M. Aidelsburger·J. L. Ville·L. Corman·Z. Hadzibabic·D. Delande·S. Nascimbene·N. Cherroret·J. Dalibard·J. Beugnon
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Abstract

Light scattering in dense media is a fundamental problem of many-body physics, which is also relevant for the development of optical devices. In this work we investigate experimentally light propagation in a dense sample of randomly positioned resonant scatterers confined in a layer of sub-wavelength thickness. We locally illuminate the atomic cloud and monitor spatially-resolved fluorescence away from the excitation region. We show that light spreading is well described by a diffusion process, involving many scattering events in the dense regime. For light detuned from resonance we find evidence that the atomic layer behaves as a graded-index planar waveguide. These features are reproduced by a simple geometrical model and numerical simulations of coupled dipoles.

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R. Saint-Jalm, M. Aidelsburger, J. L. Ville, L. Corman, Z. Hadzibabic, D. Delande, S. Nascimbene, N. Cherroret, J. Dalibard, J. Beugnon. 2018-02-12. Resonant-light diffusion in a disordered atomic layer. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.97.061801

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