Energy-resolved transport of ultracold atoms across the Anderson transition: theory and experiment

TL;DR

This paper develops a comprehensive theoretical framework to describe energy-resolved transport of ultracold atoms across the Anderson transition, validated by experiments and simulations, highlighting the role of atomic energy distribution.

Contribution

It introduces a tailored self-consistent theory of localization that incorporates spectral and spatial properties, advancing understanding of wave dynamics in 3D disordered systems.

Findings

Theoretical model accurately matches experimental atom density profiles.

Energy distribution significantly influences localization and diffusion behaviors.

Framework effectively describes localized, diffusive, and critical regimes.

Abstract

In a recent experiment [X. Yu et al., arXiv:2602.07654], energy-resolved measurements of an atomic matter wave spreading in a speckle potential enabled the direct observation of the three-dimensional Anderson transition. In this work, we present a quantitative theoretical description of the matter-wave dynamics based on a tailored implementation of the self-consistent theory of localization, which incorporates both the spectral and spatial properties of the state prepared in the disorder. We benchmark this theoretical approach against ab initio numerical simulations, and use it to analyze the atom density profiles observed experimentally in the localized, diffusive, and critical regimes. Particular emphasis is placed on the key role of the atomic energy distribution, especially on the distinct contributions of Bose-condensed and thermal atoms to interpret the experimental profiles. Our framework provides a versatile and efficient theoretical toolbox for quantitatively describing wave-packet dynamics in three-dimensional disordered quantum systems, which remain challenging for state-of-the-art large-scale numerical simulations.