Observation of Anderson localization beyond the spectrum of the disorder

Anderson localization predicts that transport in one-dimensional uncorrelated disordered systems comes to a complete halt, experiencing no transport whatsoever. However, in reality, a disordered physical system is always correlated because it must have a finite spectrum. Common wisdom in the field states that localization is dominant only for wave packets whose spectral extent resides within the region of the wave number span of the disorder. Here, we show experimentally that Anderson localization can occur and even be dominant for wave packets residing entirely outside the spectral extent of the disorder. We study the evolution of wave packets in synthetic photonic lattices containing bandwidth-limited (correlated) disorder and observe strong localization for wave packets centered at twice the mean wave number of the disorder spectral extent and at low wave numbers, both far beyond the spectrum of the disorder. Our results shed light on fundamental aspects of disordered systems and offer avenues for using spectrally shaped disorder for controlling transport.

Automated summary

Anderson localization predicts a complete halt of transport in one-dimensional uncorrelated disordered systems, but in reality, a disordered physical system is always correlated. We experimentally demonstrate that Anderson localization can occur and be dominant even for wave packets residing entirely outside the spectral extent of the disorder. We observe strong localization for wave packets centered at twice the mean wave number of the disorder spectral extent and at low wave numbers in synthetic photonic lattices containing bandwidth-limited disorder.