In this talk, I will introduce light scattering and transport in disordered dielectric media with strong structural correlations [1]. These systems include both low- and high-index contrast materials, such as hyperuniform networks, structurally colored foams, and photonic glasses composed of spherical particles [1,2].To describe light scattering and transport in these complex materials, I will present a theoretical framework that spans multiple characteristic length scales: the scattering and absorption mean free path, the Bragg length, and the localization length. This approach provides a unified perspective on how light couples into dielectric media that exhibit either photonic bandgaps or strong low-scattering order reflection.I will demonstrate how these concepts can be applied to understand structural color formation and the emergence of photonic bandgaps in disordered dielectricnetworks (picture) with hyperuniform or locally self-uniform correlations. Conceptually, the formation of bandgaps also promotes the possibility of Anderson localization regimes. I will introduce a transport phase diagram that organizes the different regimes and show how recent numerical and experimental results fit within this framework.

[1] Vynck, Kevin, Romain Pierrat, Rémi Carminati, Luis S. Froufe-Pérez, Frank Scheffold, Riccardo Sapienza, Silvia Vignolini, and Juan José Sáenz. "Light in correlated disordered media." Reviews of Modern Physics 95, no. 4 (2023): 045003.

[2] Yazhgur, P., Muller, N. and Scheffold, F., 2022. Inkjet printing of structurally colored self-assembled colloidal aggregates. ACS photonics, 9(8), pp.2809-2816.

[3] Froufe-Pérez, L.S., Engel, M., Sáenz, J.J. and Scheffold, F., 2017. Band gap formation and Anderson localization in disordered photonic materials with structural correlations. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114(36), pp.9570-9574.

[4] Scheffold, F., Haberko, J., Magkiriadou, S. and Froufe-Pérez, L.S., 2022. Transport through amorphous photonic materials with localization and bandgap regimes. Physical Review Letters, 129(15), p.157402.