In physics, disordered systems are physical systems whose microscopic constituents (e.g., atoms, spins, impurities, or structural units) lack translational or orientational long-range order and are characterized by randomness in parameters such as positions, couplings, or local potentials. This quenched or annealed disorder crucially affects thermodynamic, transport, and dynamical properties, leading to phenomena such as Anderson localization, glassy dynamics, and complex energy landscapes. Disordered systems are modeled using probabilistic descriptions of disorder realizations and ensemble averages, often requiring techniques from statistical mechanics, random matrix theory, and renormalization group methods to analyze emergent macroscopic behavior and phase transitions in the presence of randomness.
If a liquid is cooled slowly to its freezing point, it becomes a crystal in which the constituent particles are arranged in an ordered pattern. In contrast, when the liquid is cooled very quickly, the particles are unable ...
General Physics
5 hours ago
0
0
The transmission of optical information through random scattering media is a major challenge in optics, biomedical imaging, telecommunications and remote sensing. When light passes through a turbid or diffusive medium, such ...
Optics & Photonics
Jul 2, 2026
0
10
An international research team has demonstrated that the intrinsic disorder of the compound semiconductor CuInSnS₄ can be exploited to influence its optical properties. While the atomic vibrations also sense the local disorder, ...
Condensed Matter
Jun 29, 2026
0
27
A research team has developed a methodology to precisely design and control the "degree of disorder" in nanopattern arrays using metal-infiltrated block copolymer (BCP) thin films. The work was led by Professor So Youn Kim ...
Nanophysics
Jun 28, 2026
0
16
Sound waves, light waves and other types of waves, generally spread freely through space and over time. In 1958, physicist Philip W. Anderson first described a phenomenon via which irregularities or other sources of disorder ...
Physicists in China have observed five phases in localization physics within a single quantum system. Using an advanced photonic platform, the team, led by Yucheng Wang and Jingyun Fan at the Southern University of Science ...
Amorphous materials such as glass are solids whose internal structure lacks a repeating pattern. Their molecules are arranged in a random and irregular way. Surprisingly, these disordered materials can "remember" past mechanical ...
Condensed Matter
Jun 16, 2026
0
9
Engineers often treat impurities as a problem to eliminate to improve material performance. But new research from Osaka Metropolitan University and Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials IWM suggests that in some ...
Nanomaterials
Jun 14, 2026
0
22
Glasses are non-crystalline but solid states of matter in which molecules and atoms are not arranged into a regular crystal lattice, but rather in a disordered pattern. Glassy materials are widely used in various settings, ...
Magnetic switching processes are considered a prime example of controllable physics at the nanometer scale: in certain thin-film systems, a short electrical current pulse is sufficient to reverse the magnetization in a targeted ...
Nanophysics
May 24, 2026
0
28
