abstract
- © 2021 SPIE.Wave branching occurs during propagation in a gently disordered medium. It appears in many different physical situations involving diverse length scales: From electron waves refracted in semiconductors to ocean waves deflected by surface eddies. Very recently, this phenomenon has been observed in light by studying the propagation of laser beams in soap films, opening an exciting field of research where the entire machinery of structured light can be brought to bear. Here, we develop computational tools to simulate and characterize the branched flow of light propagating through two-dimensional inhomogeneous media. We present the effects of varying the correlation length of the scattering medium, the influence of shaping the input beam, and the statistical features depicting the branching of light.