Steve Simon

Abstract:

Coherent wave propagation in disordered media gives rise to many fascinating phenomena as diverse as universal conductance fluctuations in mesoscopic metals and speckle patterns in light scattering. Here, the theory of electromagnetic wave propagation in diffusive media is combined with information theory to show how interference affects the information transmission rate between antenna arrays. Nontrivial dependencies of the information capacity on the nature of the antenna arrays are found, such as the dimensionality of the arrays and their direction with respect to the local scattering medium. This approach provides a physical picture for understanding the importance of scattering in the transfer of information through wireless communications.

Abstract:

We report the observation of sharp plasmon and magnetoplasmon modes in ultra-low-density 2D electron systems. Well defined dispersions for the modes are observed at densities as low as 1.1×109 cm-2 and with excitation wave vectors as large as 1.2×105 cm-1. Interestingly, both modes are found to be more easily measured in low-density systems than in high-density systems. The strength of the light scattering cross-sections at low density suggests potential applications to the study of quantum phase transitions at large rs.