Abstract

We present an algorithm for determining the dielectric autocorrelation function of a disordered medium from angle resolved multiple light scattering measurements. Photons propagating in a disordered, multiple scattering medium are classified as being either ballistic, “snake-like” or diffusive, depending on the nature of their trajectory between source and detector. Considerable information about the nature of the scattering medium is contained in the early arriving snake-like photons whereas this information is smeared in the late-arriving diffusive photons. We derive from first principle a formal mathematical description which encompasses all three regimes of transport and relates the experimentally observed light intensity correlation functions to the ensemble averaged autocorrelation function $\tilde{B}(\overrightarrow{x},\overrightarrow{y})\equiv {〈{\epsilon }^{*}(\overrightarrow{x})\epsilon (\overrightarrow{y})〉}_{\text{ens}}$ for a disordered medium with dielectric constant $\epsilon (\overrightarrow{x})$.

© 1994 Optical Society of America