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  • Open Access

Open channels and radiation trapping eigenstates in complex resonant media

Romain Rescanieres, Romain Pierrat, and Arthur Goetschy*

  • *Contact author: arthur.goetschy@espci.psl.eu
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Phys. Rev. Research 7, 033273 – Published 23 September, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/wqrf-tkty

Abstract

We present a statistical study of the transmission and dwell-time matrices in disordered media composed of resonators, focusing on how frequency detuning influences their eigenvalue distributions. Our analysis reveals that the distribution of transmission eigenvalues undergoes a transition from a monomodal to a bimodal profile, and back to monomodal, as the frequency approaches the resonant frequency of the particles. Moreover, the distribution of dwell-time eigenvalues broadens significantly near resonance, with the longest lifetimes exceeding the median by several orders of magnitude. These results are explained by examining how frequency ω affects the transport mean free path of light ℓ(ω) and the energy transport velocity vE(ω), which in turn shape the observed distributions. We demonstrate the strong potential of wavefront shaping to synthesize wavefronts associated with eigenstates that enhance transmission and energy storage (or radiation trapping) in resonant disordered media. In the diffusive regime, where the system thickness L exceeds the mean free path, both transmission and dwell time can be enhanced by a factor ∝L/ℓ(ω)≫1 when using wavefronts associated with the largest eigenvalues instead of plane waves. In the localized regime, the enhancements become ∝Ne2L/ξ for transmission and ∝Nξ/L for dwell time, where ξ is the localization length and N is the number of controlled scattering channels. Finally, we show that employing high-Q resonators instead of low-Q ones increases energy storage within the medium by a factor of ∝Q/kℓ(ω) in both the diffusive and localized regimes.

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Phys. Rev. Research 7, 033273– Published 23 September, 2025
  • Received 9 December 2024
  • Accepted 25 July 2025
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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