Abstract

We investigate the controversy over the precise form of the photon diffusion coefficient and suggest that it is largely independent of absorption, i.e., $D_0=v/3{\mathit{\mu }}_s^{\prime }.$ After presentation of the general theoretical arguments underlying this assertion, Monte Carlo simulations are performed and explicitly reveal that the absorption-independent diffusion coefficient gives better agreement with theory than the traditionally accepted photon diffusion coefficient, $D_{{\mu }_a}=v/3({\mu }_s^{\prime }+{\mu }_a).$ The importance of resolving this controversy for the proper characterization of the material optical properties is discussed.

© 1997 Optical Society of America

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