Reentrant delocalization transition in one-dimensional photonic quasicrystals

Abstract

Waves propagating in certain one-dimensional quasiperiodic lattices are known to exhibit a sharp localization transition. We theoretically predict and experimentally observe that the localization of light in one-dimensional photonic quasicrystals is followed by a second delocalization transition for some states on increasing quasiperiodic modulation strength—an example of a reentrant transition. We further propose that this phenomenon can be qualitatively captured by a dimerized tight-binding model with long-range couplings. This work furthers our understanding of localization physics in complex systems and the impact of quasiperiodicity on light transport in photonic devices.