# Shaping the Branched Flow of Light through Disordered Media

## TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how to control the branched flow of light in disordered media by shaping the incoming wavefront, enabling propagation along a single branch and stable pulse steering across broadband frequencies.

## Contribution

It introduces a method to control optical branched flow using wavefront shaping with partial transmission matrix knowledge, transferring concepts from electronic matter waves.

## Key findings

- Controlled light propagation along a single branch
- Achieved broadband frequency stability for guided pulses
- Enabled steering of pulses along selected branches

## Abstract

Electronic matter waves traveling through the weak and smoothly varying disorder potential of a semi-conductor show branching behavior instead of a smooth spreading of flow. By transferring this phenomenon to optics, we show how the branched flow of light can be controlled to propagate along a single branch rather than through many of them at the same time. Our method is based on shaping the incoming wavefront and only requires partial knowledge of the system's transmission matrix. We show that the light flowing along a single branch has a broadband frequency stability such that we can even steer pulses along selected branches - a prospect with many interesting possibilities for wave control in disordered environments.