- Accepted Paper
Brewster-anomaly delocalization for free-electron radiation
Phys. Rev. Lett. - Accepted 8 September, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/fkp4-9l19
Phys. Rev. Lett. - Accepted 8 September, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/fkp4-9l19
Localization effects are central to disordered electronics and photonics. In electronics, Anderson localization governs electron confinement in randomly perturbed lattices. Similarly, its photonic counterpart inhibits light transport via disorder – but with a unique exception: Brewster-anomaly delocalization, where the Brewster effect prevents multiple-scattering interference and counteracts the localization. Despite extensive research in electronics and photonics separately, the intricate role of localization effects in free-electron–light interactions – vital for lasers, accelerators, microscopy and spectroscopy, and quantum information – remains largely unexplored. At the same time, localization effects are widely regarded as a key factor limiting the efficient coupling between free electrons and light in random media. Here we overcome this key limitation via the unconventional interplay between Brewster-anomaly delocalization and free-electron radiation. In this way, free-electron radiation can be localization-free, intense and directional even in strongly disordered, unengineered multilayers. Essentially, this delocalization-mediated free-electron radiation is remarkably invariant not only to the random-medium configuration, but also to the light frequency and the electron velocity. Our findings unlock new opportunities for particle detectors and achromatic light sources operating in easy-to-fabricate complex media at previously inaccessible frequencies.
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