arXiv subjects

Clément Ferise

Publications and source records attributed to Clément Ferise.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Experimental observation of three-dimensional Anderson localization of electromagnetic waves

A prominent phenomenon in contemporary condensed matter physics is Anderson localization -- suppression of wave propagation in disordered systems as a result of interference effects. Despite being observed with various types of waves over the years, all prior attempts to reach Anderson localization of light in three-dimensional systems have been hampered by experimental artifacts. Here, we report an unambiguous experimental proof of three-dimensional Anderson localization of microwaves in disordered metal aggregates. By studying samples with different metal volume fractions, we show a clear difference between diffusive and localized behaviors, and the latter is confirmed by a scaling analysis of transmitted beam width in excellent agreement with theoretical and numerical results. Our demonstration opens avenues for both fundamental studies and practical applications of this extraordinary phenomenon.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2026

Multi-Objective Tweezers in Scattering Media

Radiation forces and torques enable the manipulation of objects with acoustic and electromagnetic waves. Yet, harnessing them in complex scattering media remains a formidable challenge, especially when multiple objects must be controlled under competing objectives. Here, we demonstrate that sound or light can be shaped to tailor momentum transfer to multiple objects simultaneously in a complex scattering medium. For a single object, our theory yields the maximal achievable force or torque; for multiple objects, it produces Pareto-optimal actuation and exact bounds on the simultaneous realization of incompatible objectives. This opens new applications for wave tweezers, enabling selective and precise manipulation of objects within complex media, ranging from the handling of cells, organoids, or microrobots, to targeted drug delivery in biological media.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2026

Backscatter Communication Through Disordered Media Enabled by a Programmable Leaky Cavity

Retrieving information through disordered scattering systems remains a major challenge in wireless communication and sensing due to the severe distortion and attenuation caused by multiple scattering. Here, we demonstrate robust focusing through random media using a leaky cavity made programmable by reconfigurable metasurfaces. We show that the leaky cavity leverages backscattering from the disordered medium to enhance the degree of control over the transmitted field. We achieve an enhancement in focused intensity by an order of magnitude compared to a horn antenna. We further demonstrate robust communication through the medium using low-power amplitude-modulated signals, and finally implement a backscatter communication scheme in which the same cavity illuminates and decodes data from a passive reflectivity-modulating target embedded within the disorder. Our results open new possibilities for reliable communication and sensing in complex environments.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2025

Inverse design of mirror-symmetric disordered systems for broadband perfect transmission

We present a framework for achieving broadband perfect wave transmission in complex systems by optimizing symmetric disordered media via inverse design. We show that leveraging symmetry of complex media reduces the optimization's complexity enabling the incorporation of additional constraints in the parameter space. Starting from a single perfectly transmitting state with predefined input and output wavefronts at a specific frequency, we progressively broaden the bandwidth - from a reflectionless exceptional point with a flattened lineshape to narrowband filters and ultimately to broadband quasi-perfect transmission exhibiting a rainbow effect. Numerical simulations based on the coupled dipole approximation are validated experimentally in a multichannel microwave waveguide with dielectric and metallic scatterers. Finally, we demonstrate broadband enhanced wave transmission through barriers highlighting the potential for advanced wave control applications.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2023

Matrix approach for optimal spatio-temporal coherent control of wave scattering

We present and experimentally verify a matrix approach for determining how to optimally sculpt an input wavefront both in space and time for any desired wave-control functionality, irrespective of the complexity of the wave scattering. We leverage a singular value decomposition of the transport matrix that fully captures how both the spatial and temporal degrees of freedom available to shape the input wavefront impact the output wavefront's spatial and temporal form. In our experiments in the microwave domain, we use our formalism to successfully tackle three iconic wave-control tasks in a disordered cavity: (i) reflectionless transient excitation (``virtual perfect absorption''), (ii) optimal energy deposition, and (iii) scattering-invariant time-varying states.

physics.app-ph↗

arXiv2022

Customized anti-reflection structure for perfect transmission through complex media

Getting to grips with the detrimental influence of disordered environments on wave propagation is an interdisciplinary endeavour spanning diverse research areas ranging from telecommunications \cite{basar_wireless_2019} and bio-medical imaging \cite{kubby_wavefront_2019} to seismology \cite{Campillo2003} and material engineering \cite{Chen2010,Molesky2018}. Wavefront shaping techniques are highly promising to overcome the effect of wave scattering as even opaque media feature open channels for which the incident light is fully transmitted \cite{Dorokhov1984,Gerardin2014,Sarma2016,Jeong18}. With this feature being restricted, however, to just a small subset of judiciously engineered states it remains out of reach to render an opaque sample translucent for any incident light field. Here we show that a structureless medium composed of randomly assembled scattering elements can be made fully transmitting to all incoming wavefronts by putting a customized complementary medium in front of it. This special situation is achieved when the reflection matrices of the two media surfaces facing each other satisfy a matrix generalization of the condition for critical coupling. We implement this protocol both numerically and experimentally for the design of electromagnetic waveguides with several dozen scattering elements placed inside of them. The translucent scattering media we introduce here also have the promising property of being able to store incident radiation in their interior for remarkably long times.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2021

Experimental evidence of enhanced broadband transmission in disordered systems with mirror symmetry

We demonstrate in microwave measurements the broadband enhancement of transmission through an opaque barrier due to mirror symmetry. This enhancement relies on constructive interference between mirror scattering paths resulting from strong internal reflections at the left and right interfaces of a multichannel cavity. We observe a strong sensitivity of the conductance to a shift of the barrier from the center of the cavity. Remarkably, the impact of mirror symmetry can be further increased by tuning the degree of disorder within the cavity. We report an additional enhancement of the conductance found by symmetrically placing randomly located scatterers. Our results illuminate the impact of symmetry and disorder correlation on transmission through complex systems.

cond-mat.dis-nn↗

arXiv2021

Exceptional points of PT-symmetric reflectionless states in complex scattering systems

We investigate experimentally and analytically the coalescence of reflectionless (RL) states in symmetric complex wave-scattering systems. We observe RL-exceptional points (EPs), first, with a conventional Fabry-Perot system for which the scattering strength within the system is tuned symmetrically, and then with single- and multi-channel symmetric disordered systems. We identify that an EP of the parity-time (PT)-symmetric RL-operator is obtained when the spacing between central frequencies of two natural resonances of the system is equal to the decay rate into incoming and outgoing channels. Finally, we leverage the transfer functions associated with RL and RL-EPs states to implement first- and second-order analog differentiation.

physics.class-ph↗