title: Holey random walks: optics of heterogeneous turbid composites.
abstract: We present a probabilistic theory of random walks in turbid media with nonscattering regions. It is shown that important characteristics such as diffusion constants, average step lengths, crossing statistics, and void spacings can be analytically predicted. The theory is validated using Monte Carlo simulations of light transport in heterogeneous systems in the form of random sphere packings and good agreement is found. The role of step correlations is discussed and differences between unbounded and bounded systems are investigated. Our results are relevant to the optics of heterogeneous systems in general and represent an important step forward in the understanding of media with strong (fractal) heterogeneity in particular.
authors.affiliation: European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy, University of Florence, Via Nello Carrara 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy. svensson@lens.unifi.it
authors.forename: Tomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Svensson
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vynck
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grisi
authors.forename: Romolo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Savo
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Burresi
authors.forename: Diederik S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Wiersma
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D004058:Diffusion; D008027:Light; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009391:Nephelometry and Turbidimetry / Q000379:methods*; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D014783:Viscosity