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arXiv · 2604.02364

Topological Anderson Random Laser

Hang-Zheng Shen·Xian-Hao Wei·Xi-Wang Luo·Zheng-Wei Zhou
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Abstract

Topological lasers and random lasers embody two contrasting strategies for disorder management in photonics: the former suppresses disorder via protected edge transport, while the latter exploits multiple scattering for feedback. Here, we theoretically demonstrate that these seemingly incompatible paradigms can be unified through a topological Anderson random laser (TARL), where disorder itself induces a topological phase that enables robust lasing. Starting from a trivial photonic lattice, we show that engineered disorder drives the system into a topological Anderson insulator regime, generating emergent chiral edge states that serve as boundary-selective lasing channels. Remarkably, the TARL exhibits rapid mode selection toward a single edge state, producing an ultranarrow emission spectrum and enhanced slope efficiency optimized near disorder strength with maximal topological mobility gap. Furthermore, they exhibit single-mode-like coherence properties, deviating from Kardar-Parisi-Zhang behavior in conventional chiral topological lasers, while remaining significantly more robust against local perturbations than conventional random lasers. Our findings establish a disorder-enabled flexible route to topologically protected single-mode lasing and introduce a fundamentally new design principle for robust, high-coherence photonic light sources.

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Hang-Zheng Shen, Xian-Hao Wei, Xi-Wang Luo, Zheng-Wei Zhou. 2026-03-22. Topological Anderson Random Laser. https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.02364

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