Abstract
Anderson localization (AL) is a ubiquitous interference phenomenon in which waves fail to propagate in a disordered medium. We observe three-dimensional AL of noninteracting ultracold matter by allowing a spin-polarized atomic Fermi gas to expand into a disordered potential. A two-component density distribution emerges consisting of an expanding mobile component and a nondiffusing localized component. We extract a mobility edge that increases with the disorder strength, whereas the thermally averaged localization length is shown to decrease with disorder strength and increase with particle energy. These measurements provide a benchmark for more sophisticated theories of AL.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 66-68 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Journal | Science |
Volume | 334 |
Issue number | 6052 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 7 2011 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General