Signatures of light localization in three-dimensional disordered systems of dielectric particles
Phys. Rev. B 114, 134203 – Published 15 September, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/tf5z-jytz
Abstract
We investigate light transport in three-dimensional disordered media composed of irregular dielectric particles using large-scale full-wave simulations. For subwavelength particles with a size parameter and high refractive index contrast, we observe a crossover from diffusion to a regime characterized by nonexponential decay of time-resolved transmission as disorder increases. The corresponding time-dependent diffusion coefficient decreases with time and approaches a scaling at long times. This dynamical slowdown is accompanied by the emergence of spectrally isolated transmission resonances with Thouless conductance below unity, indicating the dominance of long-lived modes with weak spectral overlap. The late-time near-field maps reveal evolving, nonpropagating clusters of intensity hot spots. Together, the transport, spectral, and near-field signatures provide converging numerical evidence consistent with the onset of Anderson localization of light in three-dimensional disordered dielectric media.