Evidence of phonon Anderson localization on the thermal properties of disordered atomic systems

Abstract

Localization is a well-known wave phenomenon that significantly impedes transport, as uncovered by a pioneering work of Anderson. The localization of thermal phonons based on the phonon wave nature is widely represented in disordered atomic systems. Compared with electron and photon localization, the observations of phonon localization are much rarer, owning to the broadband nature of phonon thermal transport. In this Perspective, we summarize the experimental and theoretical evidences of phonon Anderson localization in disordered atomic systems from the aspects of vibrational spectroscopy, thermal conductivity measurement, phonon transmission, phonon wave packet, phonon participation ratio, and energy distribution.