Photon localization in a nematic liquid crystal

Sufficiently strong scattering can cause light propagation to stop, not due to absorption, but due to interference effects, thus localizing light. Efforts to observe localization in three dimensions with visible light have focused on high-scattering-disordered nanometer-sized powders with the unwanted side effect of strong absorption. The strong absorption mimics the signature of localization—exponential decay of transmitted intensity—complicating the interpretation of results. Nematic liquid crystals are more effective at scattering light and can have low absorption. We report experimental observation of strong photon localization in a nematic liquid crystal in which the effects of absorption are minimal.