Stochastic Dynamics of Incoherent Branched Flow

Fuente: arXiv
Enregistré dans:
Détails bibliographiques
Auteurs principaux: Garnier, Josselin, Picozzi, Antonio, Torres, Theo
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2025
Sujets:
Accès en ligne:
Tags: Ajouter un tag
Pas de tags, Soyez le premier à ajouter un tag!
_version_ 1866913782580641792
author Garnier, Josselin
Picozzi, Antonio
Torres, Theo
author_facet Garnier, Josselin
Picozzi, Antonio
Torres, Theo
contents Waves propagating through weakly disordered smooth linear media undergo a universal phenomenon called branched flow. Branched flow has been observed and studied experimentally in various systems by considering coherent waves. Recent experiments have reported the observation of optical branched flow by using an incoherent light source, thus revealing the key role of coherent phase-sensitive effects in the development of incoherent branched flow. By considering the paraxial wave equation as a generic representative model, we elaborate a stochastic theory of both coherent and incoherent branched flow. We derive closed-form equations that determine the evolution of the intensity correlation function, as well as the value and the propagation distance of the maximum of the scintillation index, which characterize the dynamical formation of incoherent branched flow. We report accurate numerical simulations that are found in quantitative agreement with the theory without free parameters. Our theory highlights the important impact of coherence and interference on branched flow, thereby providing a framework for exploring branched flow in nonlinear media, in relation with the formation of freak waves in oceans.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2502_07028
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Stochastic Dynamics of Incoherent Branched Flow
Garnier, Josselin
Picozzi, Antonio
Torres, Theo
Analysis of PDEs
Fluid Dynamics
35R60, 78A48
Waves propagating through weakly disordered smooth linear media undergo a universal phenomenon called branched flow. Branched flow has been observed and studied experimentally in various systems by considering coherent waves. Recent experiments have reported the observation of optical branched flow by using an incoherent light source, thus revealing the key role of coherent phase-sensitive effects in the development of incoherent branched flow. By considering the paraxial wave equation as a generic representative model, we elaborate a stochastic theory of both coherent and incoherent branched flow. We derive closed-form equations that determine the evolution of the intensity correlation function, as well as the value and the propagation distance of the maximum of the scintillation index, which characterize the dynamical formation of incoherent branched flow. We report accurate numerical simulations that are found in quantitative agreement with the theory without free parameters. Our theory highlights the important impact of coherence and interference on branched flow, thereby providing a framework for exploring branched flow in nonlinear media, in relation with the formation of freak waves in oceans.
title Stochastic Dynamics of Incoherent Branched Flow
topic Analysis of PDEs
Fluid Dynamics
35R60, 78A48
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.07028