Theory and application of wave propagation and scattering in random media

TLDR

Random media such as the atmosphere, ocean, and biological tissues exhibit spatially and temporally varying properties, making the study of electromagnetic, optical, and acoustic wave propagation and scattering increasingly vital for communication, detection, and remote sensing. This review surveys fundamental theories and recent advances in wave propagation and scattering within random media. The review organizes the field into waves in randomly distributed scatterers, waves in random continua, and remote‑sensing of random media, discussing transport theory, multiple‑scattering models, propagation characteristics, pulse dynamics, coherence metrics, and inversion methods for ill‑posed problems.

Abstract

This paper presents a review of basic theories and recent advances in the studies of wave propagation and scattering in random media. Examples of the random media include the atmosphere, the ocean, and biological media whose characteristics are randomly varying in time and space. The study of electromagnetic, optical, and acoustic waves in such media has become increasingly important in recent years in the areas of communication, detection, and remote-sensing. Topics covered in this paper are divided into "waves in randomly distributed scatterers," "waves in random continua," and "remote-sensing of random media." "Transport theory with various approximate solutions and multiple scattering theories are discussed and their relationships are clarified. Included in the analyses are propagation characteristics of intensities, wave fluctuations, pulse propagation and scattering, coherence bandwidth, and coherence time of communication channels through random media. Remote-sensing techniques include recent advances in the use of inversion techniques to deal with ill-posed problems.