Phase diagram of the anisotropic Anderson transition with the atomic kicked rotor: theory and experiment

We realize experimentally a cold-atom system, the quasiperiodic kicked rotor, equivalent to the three-dimensional Anderson model of disordered solids where the anisotropy between the x direction and the y–z plane can be controlled by adjusting an experimentally accessible parameter. This allows us to study experimentally the disorder versus anisotropy phase diagram of the Anderson metal–insulator transition. Numerical and experimental data compare very well with each other and a theoretical analysis based on the self-consistent theory of localization correctly describes the observed behavior, illustrating the flexibility of cold-atom experiments for the study of transport phenomena in complex quantum systems. (paper)