Suppression and Revival of Weak Localisation through Control of Time-Reversal Symmetry

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• Kilian Mueller (College de France)
• Friday 27 February 2015, 13:30-15:00
• Physics East 217.

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Phase coherence can have an important effect on the propagation of waves in disorder, ranging from a modification of the diffusion constant or the reflection coefficient (weak localisation and coherent backscattering) to the complete halt of propagation (Anderson localisation). At their heart, weak localisation and coherent backscattering (CBS) rely on the constructive interference between time-reversed multiple scattering paths. Here I will report on the experimental observation of suppression and revival of CBS of ultra-cold atoms launched in an optical disorder and submitted to a short dephasing pulse [1], as proposed in a recent paper of T. Micklitz et al. [2]. This observation demonstrates a novel and general method to study weak localisation by manipulating the time reversal symmetry of wave propagation in disordered systems. In future experiments, this scheme could be extended to investigate higher order localisation processes at the heart of Anderson localisation.

[1] K. Müller, J. Richard, V.V. Volchkov, V. Denechaud, P. Bouyer, A. Aspect, and V. Josse, arXiv:1411.1671

[2] T. Micklitz, C. A. Müller, and A. Altland, arXiv:1406.6915

This talk is part of the Cold Atoms series.

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