Spatial and angular intensity correlations of waves in disordered media

Abstract

Spatial intensity correlations between waves transmitted through random media are analyzed within the framework of the random matrix theory of transport. Assuming that the statistical distribution of transfer matrices is isotropic, we found that the the spatial correlation function of the normalized intensity can be expressed as the sum of three terms, with distinctive spatial dependences. This result, that coincides with the one obtained from microscopic perturbative calculations valid in the diffusive regime, holds all the way from quasi‐ballistic transport to localization. While correlations are positive in the diffusive regime, we predict a transition to negative correlations for both angular and spatial correlations as the length of the system decreases.