Stochastic description of geometric phase for polarized waves in random media

Jérémie Boulanger (1) , Nicolas Le Bihan (1) , Vincent Rossetto (2)

1 GIPSA-CICS - GIPSA - Communication Information and Complex Systems
2 LPM2C - Laboratoire de physique et modélisation des milieux condensés

We present a stochastic description of multiple scattering of polarized waves in the regime of forward scattering. In this regime, if the source is polarized, polarization survives along a few transport mean free paths, making it possible to measure an outgoing polarization distribution. We solve the direct problem using compound Poisson processes on the rotation group SO(3) and non-commutative harmonic analysis. The obtained solution generalizes previous works in multiple scattering theory and is used to design an algorithm solving the inverse problem of estimating the scattering properties of the medium from the observations. This technique applies to thin disordered layers, spatially fluctuating media and multiple scattering systems and is based on the polarization but not on the signal amplitude. We suggest that it can be used as a non invasive testing method.

Mots clés: Wave propagation in random media; Random phenomena and media; Inference methods

Domaines: Physique mathématique [math-ph]; Optique [physics.optics]; Théorie des représentations [math.RT]

Jérémie Boulanger, Nicolas Le Bihan, Vincent Rossetto. Stochastic description of geometric phase for polarized waves in random media. Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical, 2013, 46, pp.035203. ⟨10.1088/1751-8113/46/3/035203⟩. ⟨hal-01075284⟩