Invertible propagator for plane wave illumination of forward-scattering structures.

Area of Science:

• Wave propagation and scattering phenomena.
• Computational imaging and tomographic reconstruction.

Background:

• Directed wave propagation in forward-scattering media is crucial for imaging applications.
• The standard parabolic wave equation governs wave field evolution in such media.
• Existing methods face challenges with extended objects and tilted plane wave illumination.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an efficient one-step momentum-space propagator for wave propagation.
• To enable accurate imaging of extended objects under tilted plane wave illumination.
• To facilitate multiple-shot scatter correction and enhance tomographic imaging.

Main Methods:

• Derivation of a novel one-step momentum-space propagator.
• The propagator utilizes a propagation operator transforming linograms into diffraction patterns.
• Demonstration of the propagator's invertibility for scatter correction.

Main Results:

• The derived propagator efficiently handles wave propagation in forward-scattering media.
• Invertibility allows for effective multiple-shot scatter correction.
• High-resolution tomograms were successfully obtained in numerical simulations for a synthetic phantom with refractive and absorptive inclusions.

Conclusions:

• The developed momentum-space propagator offers an efficient solution for wave propagation problems.
• Its invertibility significantly benefits projective and tomographic imaging techniques.
• The method shows promise for reconstructing complex objects with both refractive and absorptive properties.