Random Light Beams: Theory and Applications contemplates the potential in harnessing random light. This book discusses light matter interactions, and concentrates on the various phenomena associated with beam-like fields. It explores natural and man-made light fields and gives an overview of recently introduced families of random light beams. It outlines mathematical tools for analysis, suggests schemes for realization, and discusses possible applications. The book introduces the essential concepts needed for a deeper understanding of the subject, discusses various classes of deterministic paraxial beams and examines random scalar beams. It highlights electromagnetic random beams and matters relating to generation, propagation in free space and various media, and discusses transmission through optical systems. It includes applications that benefit from the use of random beams, as well as the interaction of beams with deterministic optical systems. * Includes detailed mathematical description of different model sources and beams * Explores a wide range of man-made and natural media for beam interaction * Contains more than 100 illustrations on beam behavior * Offers information that is based on the scientific results of the last several years * Points to general methods for dealing with random beams, on the basis of which the readers can do independent research It gives examples of light propagation through the human eye, laser resonators, and negative phase materials. It discusses in detail propagation of random beams in random media, the scattering of random beams from collections of scatterers and thin random layers as well as the possible uses for these beams in imaging, tomography, and smart illumination.

Random Light Beams: Theory and Applications contemplates the potential in harnessing random light. This book discusses light matter interactions, and concentrates on the various phenomena associated with beam-like fields. It explores natural and man-made light fields and gives an overview of recently introduced families of random light beams. It outlines mathematical tools for analysis, suggests schemes for realization, and discusses possible applications.

The book introduces the essential concepts needed for a deeper understanding of the subject, discusses various classes of deterministic paraxial beams and examines random scalar beams. It highlights electromagnetic random beams and matters relating to generation, propagation in free space and various media, and discusses transmission through optical systems. It includes applications that benefit from the use of random beams, as well as the interaction of beams with deterministic optical systems.

Includes detailed mathematical description of different model sources and beams

Explores a wide range of man-made and natural media for beam interaction

Contains more than 100 illustrations on beam behavior

Offers information that is based on the scientific results of the last several years

Points to general methods for dealing with random beams, on the basis of which the readers can do independent research

It gives examples of light propagation through the human eye, laser resonators, and negative phase materials. It discusses in detail propagation of random beams in random media, the scattering of random beams from collections of scatterers and thin random layers as well as the possible uses for these beams in imaging, tomography, and smart illumination.

This monograph overviews classic and recent developments in theoretical statistical optics in connection with stationary and non-stationary (pulsed) optical source characterization and modeling, discusses various phenomena occurring with random light propagating in free space, on its interaction with optical systems, extended media and particulate collections. The text includes scalar, beam-like and general electromagnetic treatment of light. A brief statistical description of four fundamental experiments relating to random light: spatial and temporal field interference, intensity interferometry and phase conjugation, is also included in order to relate the analytical descriptions with practical observations.Rigorous mathematical methods for statistical manipulation of light sources useful for remote shaping of its various average properties, enhanced image resolution, optimized transmission in random media and for other applications are introduced. For illustration of efficient ways for manipulation of light polarization the generalized Stokes-Mueller calculus is applied for description of interaction of beam-like fields with classic and currently popular devices of polarization optics, including a spatial light modulator.Random light plays a special role in the image formation process. Three imaging modalities including the classic intensity-based system with structured source correlations, the polarization-based imaging system and the ghost interference approach are discussed in detail.Theoretical aspects of potential scattering of light from weakly scattering media are considered under a very broad range of assumptions: scalar/electromagnetic incident light, deterministic/random light/media, single/particulate media. Then, problems and methods in light characterization on interaction with extended, turbulent-like natural media, such as the Earth's atmosphere, oceans and soft bio-tissues that are currently widely used for communication, remote sensing and imaging purposes in these media, are provided.

The design of either LaserCom or LIDAR systems requires a reliable but tractable theoretical foundation (analytical model) for the calculation of phase and/or intensity statistics of the wave at the receiver under a wide range of atmospheric conditions. All rigorously developed results existing in the literature are unfortunately constrained to certain regimes (weak atmospheric fluctuations, quasi-incoherent sources, fully diffuse targets, etc.). Moreover, there are no analytic results describing the behavior of partially coherent waves in moderate-to-strong fluctuations. We establish theoretical model for the statistical description of a partially coherent beam propagating in rotationally symmetric optical systems of various complexity in the presence of atmospheric turbulence and apply it for direct and inverse problems, namely for estimation of lasercom link performance and for target characterization by LIDAR systems.