Experimental demonstration of localization in spatial frequencies of "kicked" free-space light propagation

Summary form only given. The investigation of dynamical localization is part of the field of "Quantum Chaos", where the quantal behavior of systems which are chaotic in the classical limit is studied. The classical dynamics of chaotic systems resembles random motion, although it is generated by deterministic equations, and as long as the phase space is unbounded its random-like motion leads to diffusion in this space. In the quantum case, however, it is suppressed by quantum interference leading to dynamical localization which is similar to Anderson localization in disordered solids. So far, only one direct experimental realization of quantum kicked-rotor has been published, using ultra-cold sodium atoms. Since localization is actually a wave phenomenon it is also expected to occur for "classical" electromagnetic waves. In this work we present a first experimental realization and demonstration of localization for an optical "kicked" system.