# Intensity fluctuations signature of 3D Anderson localization of light

## TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that intensity fluctuations serve as a clear experimental signature of 3D Anderson localization of light, linking macroscopic conductance collapse with microscopic scaling analysis.

## Contribution

It establishes a direct connection between intensity fluctuations and the Anderson localization transition, integrating macroscopic and microscopic perspectives.

## Key findings

- Intensity fluctuations increase at the localization transition
- The transition aligns with the Thouless number scaling analysis
- Results are consistent with eigenvalue analysis and Ioffe-Regel criterion

## Abstract

Apart from the difficulty of producing highly scattering samples, a major challenge in the observation of Anderson localization of 3D light is identifying an unambiguous signature of the phase transition in experimentally feasible situations. In this letter we establish a clear correspondence between the collapse of the conductance, the increase in intensity fluctuations at the localization transition and the scaling analysis results based on the Thouless number, thus connecting the macroscopic and microscopic approaches of localization. Furthermore, the transition thus inferred is fully compatible both with the results based on the eigenvalue analysis of the microscopic description and with the effective-medium Ioffe-Regel criterion.