Optical Levy flights and super diffusion of light

Year: 2009

Authors: Wiersma D., Barthelemy P., Bertolotti J.

Autors Affiliation: European Laboratory for Non-linear Spectroscopy (LENS), University of Florence; INFM-CNR BEC, Florence, Italy

Abstract: People working with optics and lasers usually try to avoid dust on their equipment as much as possible. Dust particles scatter light randomly in all directions and this is often detrimental to the performance of optical devices and lasers. In this articles we will see that it is possible to turn this situation upside down and actually make use of multiple light scattering to study interesting physical phenomena. In particular, we will discuss optical Lévy flights and super diffusion, and various interference effects like weak and strong localization of light waves.

Conference title:
Place:

KeyWords: Lévy flights; Lévy glass; Dust particles; Interference effects; Light diffusion; Light transport; Light waves; Multiple light scatterings; Physical phenomenon; Random fractals, Diffusion; Dust; Fractals; Glass; Optical instruments, Light
DOI: 10.1117/12.815251