Photon localization and Dicke superradiance in atomic gases

Photon propagation in a gas of N atoms is studied using an effective Hamiltonian describing photon mediated atomic dipolar interactions. The density P(\Gamma) of photon escape rates is determined from the spectrum of the N x N random matrix \Gamma_{ij} = \sin (x_{ij}) / x_{ij}, where x_{ij} is the dimensionless random distance between any two atoms. Varying disorder and system size, a scaling behavior is observed for the escape rates. It is explained using microscopic calculations and a stochastic model which emphasizes the role of cooperative effects in photon localization and provides an interesting relation with statistical properties of "small world networks".