Scattering-phase theorem: anomalous diffraction by forward-peaked scattering media

The scattering-phase theorem states that the values of scattering and reduced scattering coefficients of the bulk random media are proportional to the variance of the phase and the variance of the phase gradient, respectively, of the phase map of light passing through one thin slice of the medium. We report a new derivation of the scattering phase theorem and provide the correct form of the relation between the variance of phase gradient and the reduced scattering coefficient. We show the scattering-phase theorem is the consequence of anomalous diffraction by a thin slice of forward-peaked scattering media. A new set of scattering-phase relations with relaxed requirement on the thickness of the slice are provided. The condition for the scattering-phase theorem to be valid is discussed and illustrated with simulated data. The scattering-phase theorem is then applied to determine the scattering coefficient μ(s), the reduced scattering coefficient μ′(s), and the anisotropy factor g for polystyrene sphere and Intralipid-20% suspensions with excellent accuracy from quantitative phase imaging of respective thin slices. The spatially-resolved μ(s), μ′(s) and g maps obtained via such a scattering-phase relationship may find general applications in the characterization of the optical property of homogeneous and heterogeneous random media.