
Lecture 12
Wave Localization in
Randomly Layered Media
12.1 General Remarks
The problem of plane wave propagation in layered media is formulated in terms of the
one-dimensional boundary-value problem. It attracts the attention of many researchers
because it is much simpler in comparison with the corresponding two- and three-
dimensional problems and provides a deeper insight into wave propagation in random
media. In view of the fact that the one-dimensional problem allows an exact asymp-
totic solution, we can use it to trace the effect of different models, medium parameters,
and boundary conditions on statistical characteristics of the wavefield.
The problem in the one-dimensional statement was given in Lecture 1.
12.1.1 Wave Incidence on an Inhomogeneous Layer
Assume the layer of inhomogeneous medium occupies the portion of space
L
0
< x < L. The unit-amplitude plane wave is incident on this layer from region
x > L. The wavefield in the inhomogeneous layer satisfies the Helmholtz equation
d
2
dx
2
u(x) + k
2
(x)u(x) = 0, (12.1)
where k
2
(x) = k
2
[1 + ε(x)] and function ε(x) describes the inhomogeneities of the
medium. In the simplest case of unmatched boundary, we assume that k(x) = k, i.e.,
ε(x) = 0 outside the layer and ε(x) = ε
1
(x) + iγ inside the layer, where ε
1
(x) is the
real part responsible for wave scattering in the medium and γ 1 is the imaginary
part responsible for wave absorption in the medium.
The boundary conditions for Eq. (12.1) are formulated as the continuity of function
u(x) and derivative
d
dx
u(x) at layer boundaries; these conditions can we written in the
form
1 +
i
k
d
dx
u(x)
x=L
= 2,
1 −
i
k
d
dx
u(x)
x=L
0
= 0. (12.2)
Lectures on Dynamics of Stochastic Systems. DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-384966-3.00012-X
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c
2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.