Thanks to a significant increase in computing power, a group of researchers has solved the decades-old mystery of whether optical waves can be trapped in small micro- or nanoparticles with three-dimensional filling. It’s a discovery that could open up new opportunities for lasers and photocatalysts, among other applications.
Electrons in matter can move freely to conduct current or be trapped and act as insulators. It depends on the number of randomly distributed dots that the object has.
When Philip W. Anderson proposed this concept, known as Anderson’s field, in 1958, it turned out to be a game changer in modern condensed physics. The theory extended to quantum and classical fields, including electrons, sound waves, water, and gravity.
However, exactly how this principle works to trap, or detect, electromagnetic waves in three dimensions is still unknown – despite 40 years of extensive studies.
Led by Professor Hui Cao, the researchers have finally provided a definitive answer as to whether light can appear in three dimensions. It’s a discovery that could open up new avenues both in basic research and in practical applications using 3D local lighting.
The results are published in Nature Physics. Anderson’s quest for 3D modeling of electromagnetic waves took decades and many attempts and failures. There have been various experimental reports on 3D light fields, but all of them have been questioned due to experimental reasons, or the observed results from non-structural physical effects.
These failures have led to a heated debate about whether Anderson fields of electromagnetic waves exist in 3D random systems. Since it is difficult to eliminate all experimental factors in order to obtain complete results, Cao and his colleagues began “the contempt of numerical simulation”, according to Philip W. Anderson included it in the Nobel Prize lecture in 1977.
However, making a computer simulation of Anderson’s location in three dimensions has proven difficult. “We cannot simulate large three-dimensional systems,” said Cao, John C. Malone Professor of Applied Physics and Professor of Electrical Engineering and Physics. “People have tried different digital methods. But it’s not possible to replicate such a large system to really show whether there is a region or not.
But Cao’s team recently worked with Flexcompute, a company that recently made strides in increasing digital acceleration by orders of magnitude with their Tidy3D FDTD software. “It’s amazing how well Flexcompute’s computing power works,” he said.
“Some simulations that we thought would take days to run can be done in just 30 minutes. This allows us to try a lot of different system configurations, different system sizes, and different systems to see if we can get a three-zone configuration of light.
Cao assembled an international team that included his long-time collaborator Professor Alexey Yamilov of the Missouri University of Science and Technology and Dr Sergey Skipetrov of the University of Grenoble Alpes in France.
They worked with Professor Zongfu Yu from the University of Wisconsin, Dr. Tyler Hughes and Dr. Momchil Minkov from Flexcompute.
Free of all artifacts that have corrupted the experimental data so far, their study closes the long debate about the possibility of making three-dimensional light fields with quantitative results.
First, they showed that it is impossible to describe light in three different combinations of materials such as glass or silicon, which explains the failure of intensive experimental efforts in recent decades. Second, they provided unequivocal proof of Anderson’s arrangement of electromagnetic waves in the composition of metal spheres.
“When we saw where Anderson was in the digital simulation, we were excited,” Cao said. “It’s surprising, since scientists have been pursuing it for a long time.”
Copper systems have long been overlooked because of their heat absorption. But even taking into account the loss of metals such as aluminum, silver and copper, Anderson’s region is moving forward.
Amazingly, even though the loss is minimal, we can still see evidence of Anderson’s whereabouts. This means that it is a strong and strong feeling.
In addition to solving some long-standing questions, the discovery opens new possibilities for lasers and photocatalysts.
“Three-dimensional confinement of light in porous metals can improve optical properties, light-matter interactions, and random laser control with targeted energy input.” Cao said. “So we hope that there is potential
Source: Yale University
