SIMILARITIES AND DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN COHERENCE THEORY RELATIONS AND LASER SCATTERING PHENOMENA

Similar field-variables are studied in coherence theory and various laser scattering phenomena. However, a time average replaces the ensemble average in most analyses of coherence. It is demonstrated that when the phase deviation resulting from laser scattering is greater than 2 pi radians and the average scattered field-intensity is a slowly varying spatial variable, coherence relations can be applied to scattering phenomena by replacing the time average with a spatial average. A gedanken experiment is employed to demonstrate the correspondence of results obtained via coherence theory and scattering analyses. The reduction in observed intensity fluctuations by temporal and spatial averaging is explicated. The implications of coherence theory results in laser scattering phenomena are discussed as well as the converse.