Published on October 26, 2025–Updated on October 26, 2025
Dates
on the November 4, 2025
Café : 15h
Séminaire: 15h15
Location
Salle des séminaires
Anderson Localization: Analogies with Quantum Chaos and Glassy Physics
Seminars of the Institut de Physique de Nice,
Abstract:
In this seminar, I will discuss a remarkable wave phenomenon I have been studying since my PhD: Anderson localization. It occurs when a wave propagates through a disordered medium and its diffusive transport is suppressed by interference effects.
Although first discovered in the context of quantum particles, Anderson localization is a universal wave effect, also observed with light, sound, and cold atoms. I will show how it can be explored in a controlled way using cold atomic gases evolving under chaotic dynamics, thus connecting disorder and quantum chaos.
Finally, I will present recent discoveries revealing striking analogies between localization in two dimensions, in infinite dimensions, and the glassy physics of directed polymers—highlighting how concepts from seemingly distant areas of physics converge to illuminate the nature of transport in complex media.
