We present a unified derivation of the photon diffusion coefficient for both steady-state and time-dependent transport in disordered absorbing media. The derivation is based on a modal analysis of the time-dependent radiative transfer equation. This approach confirms that the dynamic diffusion coefficient is given by the random-walk result $D=c{l}^{*}∕3$ , where $l^{*}$ is the transport mean free path and c is the energy velocity, independent of the level of absorption. It also shows that the diffusion coefficient for steady-state transport, often used in biomedical optics, depends on absorption, in agreement with recent theoretical and experimental works. These two results resolve a recurrent controversy in light propagation and imaging in scattering media.

© 2006 Optical Society of America

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Citation lists with outbound citation links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an OSA member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Log in to access OSA Member Subscription

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Cited by links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an OSA member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Log in to access OSA Member Subscription

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Article level metrics are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an OSA member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Log in to access OSA Member Subscription

Related Journal Articles

• Monte Carlo study of diffuse reflectance at source–detector separations close to one transport mean free path (JOSAA)
• Photon migration at short times and distances and in cases of strong absorption: errata (JOSAA)
• Unified Analysis of the Sensitivities of Reflectance and Path Length to Scattering Variations in a Diffusive Medium (AO)
• Definition of the diffusion coefficient in scattering and absorbing media (JOSAA)
• Diffusive-to-ballistic transition in dynamic light transmission through thin scattering slabs: a radiative transfer approach (JOSAA)

Related Conference Papers

• Polarization dependence of diffuse terahertz radiation
• Scaling Behavior of Classical Wave Transport at the Mobility Edge
• Photon Diffusion Coefficient in Absorbing Random Media
• Energy Transport by Classical Waves through Multilayers of Diffusing Slabs
• Simulation of 3D light propagation in a layered head model including a clear CSF layer