Transport of light and electrons in strongly scattering media
Light transport
through white media, such as clouds and paint is a subject studied intensively
by astrophysicists. In this field some open questions were solved, that explained
quite a variety of experiments.
A review
paper [R2] was written with PhD student Mark van Rossum. [R2] M.C.W.
van Rossum and Th.M. N., Multiple scattering of classical waves: microscopy,
mesoscopy and diffusion, Rev.
Mod. Phys. 71 (1999) 313-371 [L24] Th.M.
N. and M.C.W. van Rossum, Intensity distribution of waves transmitted through
a multiple scattering medium, Phys.
Rev. Lett. 74 (1995) 2674-2677 [L23] J.F.
de Boer, M.C.W. van Rossum, M.P. van Albada, Th.M. N., and A. Lagendijk,
Probabily distribution of multiple scattered light measured in total transmission,
Phys.
Rev. Lett. 73 (1994) 2567-2570
[L22] M.C.W.
van Rossum and Th.M. N., Influence of skin layers on speckle correlations
of light transmitted through disordered media, Phys.
Lett. A 177 (1993) 452-458 [L21] Th.M.
N. and M.C.W. van Rossum, Role of a single scatterer in a multiple scattering
medium, Phys.
Lett. A 177 (1993) 102-106 [L20] Th.M.
N., A.L. Burin, Yu. Kagan, and G.V. Shlyapnikov, Light propagation in a
solid with resonant atoms at random positions, Phys.
Lett. A 184 (1994) 360-365 [L18] Th.M.
N., A. Lagendijk, and B.A. van Tiggelen, Resonant point-scatterers in multiple
scattering of classical waves, Phys.
Lett. A 169 (1992) 191-194 [L16] Th.M.
N., Semi-ballistic transport in disordered narrow devices, [P47] Zh.S.
Gevorkian and Th.M. N., Interference phenomena in radiation of a charged
particle moving in a system with one-dimensional randomness, Phys. Rev. E 61 2000 4656-4658 [P46]
J.M. Luck and Th.M. N., Light scattering from mesoscopic objects in diffusive
media, Eur.
Phys. J. B 7 (1999) 483-500 [P45] D. Lancaster
and Th.M. N., Scattering from objects immersed in a diffuse medium, [P41] M.C.W.
van Rossum, I.V. Lerner, B.L. Altshuler, and Th.M. N., Deviations from the
Gaussian distribution of mesoscopic conductance fluctuations, Phys.
Rev. B 55 (1997) 4710-4716 [P40] E. Amic,
J.M. Luck, and Th.M. N., Multiple Rayleigh scattering of electromagnetic
waves, J. de Physique I France 7 (1997) 445-483 [P39] A. Mosk,
Th. M. N., and C. Barnes, Theory of semi-ballistic wave propagation,
Phys.
Rev. B 53 (1996) 15914-15931 [P38] B.A.
van Tiggelen, R. Maynard, and Th.M. N., Theory for multiple light scattering
from Rayleigh scatterers in magnetic fields, Phys. Rev. E 53 (1996) 2881-2908 [P36] E. Amic,
J.M. Luck, and Th.M. N., Anisotropic multiple scattering in diffuse media,
[P35] M.C.W.
van Rossum, J.F. de Boer, and Th. M. N., Third cumulant of the total transmission
of diffuse waves, Phys. Rev. E 52 (1995) 2053-2065 [P34] M.C.W.
van Rossum, Th. M. N., and R. Vlaming, Optical conductance fluctuations:
diagrammatic analysis in Landauer approach and non-universal effects, Phys.
Rev. E, 51 (1995) 6158-6176 [P32] Th.M.
N. and J.M. Luck, Skin layer of diffuse media, Phys.
Rev. E 48 (1993) 569-588 [P31] P.N.
den Outer, Th.M. N., and A. Lagendijk, Location of objects in strongly scattering
media, J. Opt. Soc.
Am. A 10 (1993) 1209-1218
The solution to locate objects immersed in a multiple scattering medium [P31] was a step forward
towards the detection of breastcancer using visible (infrared) light. This initiated two later
theoretical papers on the effective ``charge'' and ``dipole'' of objects
immersed in a multiple scattering medium, [P45], [P46].
Transport in restricted geometries was studied in [L19], [P39].
The presence of disorder in the interaces of the wells in double well structures appeared
to explain an observation that when the thickness of the barriers is enlarged,
the transmission maximum diminishes by orders of magnitude, but
the transmission width remains broad.
In the skin layer of multiple scattering media the transition from ray-transport to diffuse transport
takes place; how to describe this in media with a different refractive index
was explained in [P32], and related items in [L21] and [L22].
A technically useful step was to introduce point scatterers, which have to be defined
with care when close to a resonance, see [L18].
After contributing to explain a small asymmetry in the distribution of the total transmitted light
through a multiple scattering slab [L23], this problem was solved in its generality [L24]; the results
were beautifully confirmed in the microwave regime by the group of Genack.
The analogous assymmetry (third cumulant) in the conductivity of electrons was studied
in [P41] and related questions were considered in [P34].
The limit of strong forward scattering allows in the multiple scattering regime
still an exact solution, that was derived by us [P36].
The full vector character of light was taken into account and exact solutions were extended
to this case [P40]; the presence of magnetic fields, causing Faraday rotation of the
polarization vector, was studied in [P38].
For the study of the light coming from the moons of Jupiter it was relevant to have the
full angular profile of the coherent polarization opposition effect, [L35].
Transport of light by resonant atoms at random positions was considered in [L20].
Interference phenomena in radiation of a charged particle moving in a system with
one-dimensional randomness was considered in [47]; this principle may be used for building new particle detectors.
Europhys. Lett. 24 (1993) 269-274
Physica
A 256, (1998) 417-438
J. Phys. A 29 (1996)
4915-4955