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We consider the radiative transfer of a finite width collimated beam incident normally on a plane-parallel slab composed of a uniform absorbing and scattering medium. This problem is fundamental for modeling and interpreting non-invasive measurements of light backscattered by a multiple scattering medium. Assuming that the beam width is the smallest length scale in the problem, we introduce a perturbation method to determine the asymptotic expansion for the solution of this problem. Using this asymptotic expansion, we determine the leading asymptotic behavior of the reflectance. This result includes the influence integral, which gives the influence of the phase function on the leading asymptotic behavior of the reflectance. We validate this asymptotic theory using a novel implementation of the Monte Carlo method that is fully vectorized to run efficiently in MATLAB. We evaluate the usefulness of this asymptotic behavior for different phase functions and show that it provides valuable insight into the influence of the phase function on spatially resolved non-invasive measurements of light backscattered by a multiple scattering medium. 

The generalized nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation with full dispersion (FDNLS) is considered in the semiclassical regime. The Whitham modulation equations are obtained for the FDNLS equation with general linear dispersion and a generalized, local nonlinearity. Assuming the existence of a four-parameter family of two-phase solutions, a multiple-scales approach yields a system of four independent, first-order, quasi-linear conservation laws of hydrodynamic type that correspond to the slow evolution of the two wavenumbers, mass, and momentum of modulated periodic traveling waves. The modulation equations are further analyzed in the dispersionless and weakly nonlinear regimes. The ill-posedness of the dispersionless equations corresponds to the classical criterion for modulational instability (MI). For modulations of linear waves, ill-posedness coincides with the generalized MI criterion, recently identified by Amiranashvili and Tobisch [New J. Phys., 21 (2019), 033029]. A new instability index is identified by the transition from real to complex characteristics for the weakly nonlinear modulation equations. This instability is associated with long wavelength modulations of nonlinear two-phase wavetrains and can exist even when the corresponding one-phase wavetrain is stable according to the generalized MI criterion. Another interpretation is that while infinitesimal perturbations of a periodic wave may not grow, small but finite amplitude perturbations may grow, hence this index identifies a nonlinear instability mechanism for one-phase waves. Classifications of instability indices for multiple FDNLS equations with higher-order dispersion, including applications to finite-depth water waves and the discrete NLS equation, are presented and compared with direct numerical simulations. 

A system of tunnel-coupled quantum dots is considered in the presence of an applied electric field. Given the measurements of differences between ground state and excited state energy levels as the electric field is varied, we seek to recover the quantum Hamiltonians that describe this system. We formulate this as a parameterized inverse eigenvalue problem and develop algebraic and computational methods for solving for parameters to represent these Hamiltonians. The results demonstrate that this approach is highly precise even when there is error present within the measurements. This theory could aid in the design of high resolution tunable quantum sensors. 

We study the radiative transfer of a spatially modulated plane wave incident on a half-space composed of a uniformly scattering and absorbing medium. For spatial frequencies that are large compared to the scattering coefficient, we find that first-order scattering governs the leading behavior of the radiance backscattered by the medium. The first-order scattering approximation reveals a specific curve on the backscattered hemisphere where the radiance is concentrated. Along this curve, the radiance assumes a particularly simple expression that is directly proportional to the phase function. These results are inherent to the radiative transfer equation at large spatial frequency and do not have a strong dependence on any particular optical property. Consequently, these results provide the means by which spatial frequency domain imaging technologies can directly measure the phase function of a sample. Numerical simulations using the discrete ordinate method along with the source integration interpolation method validate these theoretical findings. 

Abstract The Whitham equation was proposed as a model for surface water waves that combines the quadratic flux nonlinearityof the Korteweg–de Vries equation and the full linear dispersion relationof unidirectional gravity water waves in suitably scaled variables. This paper proposes and analyzes a generalization of Whitham's model to unidirectional nonlinear wave equations consisting of a general nonlinear flux functionand a general linear dispersion relation. Assuming the existence of periodic traveling wave solutions to this generalized Whitham equation, their slow modulations are studied in the context of Whitham modulation theory. A multiple scales calculation yields the modulation equations, a system of three conservation laws that describe the slow evolution of the periodic traveling wave's wavenumber, amplitude, and mean. In the weakly nonlinear limit, explicit, simple criteria in terms of generalandestablishing the strict hyperbolicity and genuine nonlinearity of the modulation equations are determined. This result is interpreted as a generalized Lighthill–Whitham criterion for modulational instability.