The transition from the ballistic to the diffusive regime in a turbid medium

TL;DR

This paper investigates how light transitions from ballistic to diffusive behavior in a turbid medium by varying absorption and width, combining experimental and theoretical analysis to understand the dependence on scattering and measurement angles.

Contribution

It provides a combined experimental and theoretical study of the ballistic-diffusive transition in turbid media, highlighting the influence of scattering and measurement geometry.

Findings

Transition location depends on scattering coefficient

Abrupt change in attenuation coefficient within a mean-free-path

Both experimental and theoretical analyses confirm the transition dynamics

Abstract

By varying the absorption coefficient and width of an intralipid- India ink solution in a quasi one-dimensional experiment, the transition between the ballistic and the diffusive regimes is investigated. The medium's attenuation coefficient changes abruptly between two different values within a single mean-free-path. This problem is analyzed both experimentally and theoretically, and it is demonstrated that the transition location depends on the scattering coefficient as well as on the measuring solid angle.