# Transport of light through a dense ensemble of cold atoms in a static electric field

## TL;DR

This study shows that light transport in a dense cloud of cold atoms under a static electric field can be effectively modeled as diffusion, with mean free paths below the wavelength, without signs of localization or breakdown.

## Contribution

It demonstrates that coherent light transport in dense atomic ensembles under electric fields can be described by simple diffusion models without localization effects.

## Key findings

- Transport remains diffusive up to high atomic densities.
- Mean free paths below the wavelength are achievable without localization.
- No evidence of Anderson localization in the studied conditions.

## Abstract

We demonstrate that the transport of coherent quasiresonant light through a dense cloud of immobile two-level atoms subjected to a static external electric field can be described by a simple diffusion process up to atomic number densities of the order of at least $10^2$ atoms per wavelength cubed. Transport mean free paths well below the wavelength of light in the free space can be reached without inducing any sign of Anderson localization of light or of any other mechanism of breakdown of diffusion.