Glassy behavior of light

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that light in a nonlinear, disordered medium exhibits glassy behavior, characterized by a phase transition and multiple metastable states, linking nonlinear optics with complex systems theory.

Contribution

It predicts a replica-symmetry breaking phase transition in multi-mode random lasers, revealing new physical phenomena and establishing a connection between nonlinear optics and glassy systems.

Findings

Prediction of a replica-symmetry breaking phase transition

Identification of glassy behavior in random lasers

Demonstration of complex metastable states in photon gas

Abstract

We study the nonlinear dynamics of a multi-mode random laser using the methods of statistical physics of disordered systems. A replica-symmetry breaking phase transition is predicted as a function of the pump intensity. We thus show that light propagating in a random non-linear medium displays glassy behavior, i.e. the photon gas has a multitude of metastable states and a non vanishing complexity, corresponding to mode-locking processes in random lasers. The present work reveals the existence of new physical phenomena, and demonstrates how nonlinear optics and random lasers can be a benchmark for the modern theory of complex systems and glasses.