Phase Singularity Diffusion

Abstract

We follow the trajectories of phase singularities at nulls of intensity in the speckle pattern of waves transmitted through random media as the frequency of the incident radiation is scanned in microwave experiments and numerical simulations. Phase singularities are observed to diffuse with a linear increase of the square displacement with frequency shift. The product of the diffusion coefficient of phase singularities in the transmitted speckle pattern and the photon diffusion coefficient through the random medium is proportional to the square of the effective sample length. This provides the photon diffusion coefficient and a method for characterizing the motion of dynamic material systems.