Ioffe-Regel criterion of Anderson localization in the model of resonant point scatterers

TL;DR

This paper maps the phase diagram of scalar wave localization in 3D resonant scatterers, showing the Ioffe-Regel criterion is only qualitatively valid and identifying the critical density for Anderson localization.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed phase diagram for Anderson localization in 3D resonant scatterers and challenges the quantitative applicability of the Ioffe-Regel criterion.

Findings

Localization occurs near resonance when scatterer density exceeds a critical value

The Ioffe-Regel parameter varies from 0.3 to 1.2 at mobility edges

The traditional Ioffe-Regel criterion cannot quantitatively predict localization in 3D

Abstract

We establish a phase diagram of a model in which scalar waves are scattered by resonant point scatterers pinned at random positions in the free three-dimensional (3D) space. A transition to Anderson localization takes place in a narrow frequency band near the resonance frequency provided that the number density of scatterers $\rho$ exceeds a critical value $\rho_c \simeq 0.08 k_0^{3}$, where $k_0$ is the wave number in the free space. The localization condition $\rho > \rho_c$ can be rewritten as $k_0 \ell_0 < 1$, where $\ell_0$ is the on-resonance mean free path in the independent-scattering approximation. At mobility edges, the decay of the average amplitude of a monochromatic plane wave is not purely exponential and the growth of its phase is nonlinear with the propagation distance. This makes it impossible to define the mean free path $\ell$ and the effective wave number $k$ in a usual way. If the latter are defined as an effective decay length of the intensity and an effective growth rate of the phase of the average wave field, the Ioffe-Regel parameter $(k\ell)_c$ at the mobility edges can be calculated and takes values from 0.3 to 1.2 depending on $\rho$. Thus, the Ioffe-Regel criterion of localization $k\ell < (k\ell)_c = \mathrm{const} \sim 1$ is valid only qualitatively and cannot be used as a quantitative condition of Anderson localization in 3D.