LOCALIZATION OF LIGHT IN 3-DIMENSIONAL RANDOM DIELECTRIC MEDIA

A systematic approach to the localization of light waves in three-dime nsional dielectric media is developed. A general definition of localiz ation of electromagnetic waves is proposed and its consequences are el aborated. A significant amount of localization of the energy density o f the electromagnetic field is predicted in finite systems of randomly distributed dielectric particles modeled by dipoles linearly coupled to the electric field of the incident wave. Although in this case it i s not possible to achieve perfect localization, the predicted phenomen on is experimentally indistinguishable from a complete localization. O ur approach is based directly on the Maxwell equations; the vector cha racter of the electromagnetic waves is fully taken into account. The c oncepts presented in our previous paper [M. Rusek and A. Orlowski, Phy s. Rev. E 51, R2763 (1995)] are now generalized to the three-dimension al case. Instead of using the Kirchhoff integral formula for scalar wa ves, we now analyze light scattering by pointlike dielectric particles as the special case of general considerations dealing with elastic sc attering of electromagnetic waves by arbitrary localized charges and c urrents.