Coherent transport and symmetry breaking—laser dynamics of constrained granular matter

We present diagrammatic transport theory including self-consistent nonlinear enhancement and dissipation in the multiple scattering regime. Our model of Vollhardt–Wölfle transport of photons is fit-parameter-free and raises the claim that the results hold up to the closest packed volume of randomly arranged ZnO Mie scatterers. We find that a symmetry breaking caused by dissipative effects through the lossy underlying silicon (SI) substrate leads to qualitatively different physics of coherence and lasing in granular amplifying media. According to our results, confined and extended random laser modes and their laser thresholds can be clearly attributed to unbroken and broken spatial symmetry. The diameters and emission profiles of the modes, as well as their thresholds and the positional-dependent degree of coherence, can be checked experimentally. (paper)