Unified Green's function retrieval by cross correlation

Experimentally realized physical-model-based frugal wave control in metasurface-programmable complex media

Metasurface-programmable radio environments are considered a key ingredient of next-generation wireless networks. Yet, identifying a metasurface configuration that yields a desired wireless functionality in an unknown complex environment was so far only achieved with closed-loop iterative feedback schemes. Here, we introduce open-loop wave control in metasurface-programmable complex media by estimating the parameters of a compact physics-based forward model. Our experiments demonstrate orders-of-magnitude advantages over deep-learning-based digital-twin benchmarks in terms of accuracy, compactness and required calibration examples. Strikingly, our parameter estimation also works without phase information and without providing measurements for all considered scattering coefficients. These unique generalization capabilities of our pure-physics model unlock unforeseen and previously inaccessible frugal wave control protocols that significantly alleviate the measurement complexity. For instance, we achieve coherent wave control (focusing or perfect absorption) and phase-shift-keying backscatter communications in metasurface-programmable complex media with intensity-only measurements. Our approach is also directly relevant to dynamic metasurface antennas, microwave-based signal processors and emerging in situ reconfigurable nanophotonic, optical and room-acoustical systems.

Rapid emergence of empirical Green's functions from cross-correlations of ambient sound on continental shelfa)

Applications of acoustic noise interferometry to passive remote sensing of the ocean rely on retrieval of empirical Green's functions (EGFs) from cross-correlations of ambient sound at spatially separated points. At ranges of tens of ocean depths, obtaining stable and accurate EGF estimates usually requires noise averaging periods of hours or days. Using data acquired in the Shallow Water 2006 experiment on the continental shelf off New Jersey, it is found that at ranges of 40-70 ocean depths, the EGFs can be retrieved with noise averaging times as short as 64 s. The phenomenon is observed for various receiver pairs but does not occur simultaneously in all azimuthal directions. The rapidly emerging EGFs have a wider frequency band and a richer normal mode content than the EGFs obtained in previous studies using long averaging times and are better suited for monitoring physical processes in the water column. Available acoustic and environmental data is examined to understand the conditions leading to rapid EGF emergence from diffuse noise. Strong intermittency is observed in the horizontal directionality of ambient sound. Rapid emergence of EGF in shallow-water waveguide is found to occur when the directionality of diffuse ambient noise is favorable.

Wave-field representations with Green's functions, propagator matrices, and Marchenko-type focusing functions

Classical acoustic wave-field representations consist of volume and boundary integrals, of which the integrands contain specific combinations of Green's functions, source distributions, and wave fields. Using a unified matrix-vector wave equation for different wave phenomena, these representations can be reformulated in terms of Green's matrices, source vectors, and wave-field vectors. The matrix-vector formalism also allows the formulation of representations in which propagator matrices replace the Green's matrices. These propagator matrices, in turn, can be expressed in terms of Marchenko-type focusing functions. An advantage of the representations with propagator matrices and focusing functions is that the boundary integrals in these representations are limited to a single open boundary. This makes these representations a suitable basis for developing advanced inverse scattering, imaging and monitoring methods for wave fields acquired on a single boundary.

Diffuse field cross-correlations: Scattering theory and electromagnetic experiments

The passive estimation of impulse responses from ambient noise correlations arouses increasing interest in seismology, acoustics, optics, and electromagnetism. Assuming the equipartition of the noise field, the cross-correlation function measured with noninvasive receiving probes converges towards the difference of the causal and anticausal Green's functions. Here, we consider the case when the receiving field probes are antennas which are well coupled to a complex medium-a scenario of practical relevance in electromagnetism. We propose a general approach based on the scattering matrix formalism to explore the convergence of the cross-correlation function. The analytically derived theoretical results for chaotic systems are confirmed in microwave measurements within a mode-stirred reverberation chamber. This study provides fundamental insight into the Green's function retrieval technique and paves the way for a new technique to characterize electromagnetic antennas.

Wavefield finite time focusing with reduced spatial exposure

Wavefield focusing is often achieved by time-reversal mirrors, where wavefields emitted by a source located at the focal point are evaluated at a closed boundary and sent back, after time-reversal, into the medium from that boundary. Mathematically, time-reversal mirrors are derived from closed-boundary integral representations of reciprocity theorems. In heterogeneous media, time-reversal focusing theoretically involves in- and output signals that are infinite in time and the resulting waves propagate through the entire medium. Recently, integral representations have been derived for single-sided wavefield focusing. Although the required input signals for this approach are finite in time, the output signals are not and, similar to time-reversal mirroring, the resulting waves propagate through the entire medium. Here, an alternative solution for double-sided wavefield focusing is derived. This solution is based on an integral representation where in- and output signals are finite in time, and where the energy of the waves propagating in the layer embedding the focal point is smaller than with time-reversal focusing. The potential of the proposed method is explored with numerical experiments involving a head model consisting of a skull enclosing a brain.

Acoustic noise interferometry in a time-dependent coastal ocean

Interferometry of underwater noise provides a way to estimate physical parameters of the water column and the seafloor without employing any controlled sound sources. In applications of acoustic noise interferometry to coastal oceans, the propagation environment changes appreciably during the averaging times that are necessary for the Green's functions to emerge from noise cross-correlations. Here, a theory is developed to quantify the effects of nonstationarity of the propagation environment on two-point correlation functions of diffuse noise. It is shown that temporal variability of the ocean limits from above the frequency range, where noise cross-correlations approximate the Green's functions. The theoretical predictions are in quantitative agreement with results of the 2012 noise interferometry experiment in the Florida Straits. The loss of coherence at high frequencies constrains the passive acoustic remote sensing to exploiting a low-frequency part of measured noise cross-correlations, thus limiting the resolution of deterministic inversions. On the other hand, the passively measured coherence loss contains information about statistical characteristics of the ocean dynamics at unresolved spatial and temporal scales.

Extraction of scattering echo time by surf noise background subtracted autocorrelation

Extracting echo time is an important step in scatterer detection by ambient noise, while in general the scattered signal is weak and submerged in the background. An experiment of a Polyvinyl chloride pipe in a coastline surf noise environment is designed to extract the pipe's echo time by noise autocorrelation. As expected, the scattered wave of the pipe is submerged in an autocorrelation signal. A method called background subtracted autocorrelation is proposed in this paper, which can retrieve scattered echo time from autocorrelation signal effectively. And the biggest relative error of extracted echo time is less than 2% in the experiment.

Flux projection beamforming for monochromatic source localization in enclosed space

Monochromatic sound source localization becomes difficult in enclosed space. According to the reciprocity theorem, a self-consistent method of source localization in enclosed space, referred to as the flux projection beamforming, is proposed, only using the measurement of the sound pressure and normal velocity on the closed boundary at a single frequency. Its validity is examined both by experiment and simulation.

Green's Function Retrieval with Absorbing Probes in Reverberating Cavities

The cross-correlation of a diffuse wave field converges toward the difference between the anticausal and causal Green's functions between two points. This property has paved the way to passive imaging using ambient noise sources. In this Letter, we investigate Green's function retrieval in electromagnetism. Using a model based on the fluctuation dissipation theorem, we demonstrate theoretically that the cross-correlation function strongly depends on the absorption properties of the receivers. This is confirmed in measurements within a reverberation chamber. In contrast to measurements with noninvasive probes, we show that only the anticausal Green's function can be retrieved with a matched antenna. Finally, we interpret this result as an equivalent time-reversal experiment with an electromagnetic sink.

Retrieving time-dependent Green's functions in optics with low-coherence interferometry

We report on the passive measurement of time-dependent Green's functions in the optical frequency domain with low-coherence interferometry. Inspired by previous studies in acoustics and seismology, we show how the correlations of a broadband and incoherent wave field can directly yield the Green's functions between scatterers of a complex medium. Both the ballistic and multiple scattering components of the Green's function are retrieved. This approach opens important perspectives for optical imaging and characterization in complex scattering media.

Virtual source method for diffuse optical imaging

The Green's function for diffusive wave propagation can be obtained by utilizing the representation theorems of the convolution type and the correlation type. In this work, the Green's function is retrieved by making use of the Robin boundary condition and the representation theorems for diffusive media. The diffusive Green's function between two detectors for photon flux is calculated by combining detector readings due to point light sources and utilizing virtual light sources at the detector positions in optical tomography. Two dimensional simulations for a circular region with eight sources and eight detectors located on the boundary are performed using a finite element method to demonstrate the feasibility of virtual sources. The most important potential application would be the replacement of noisy measurements with synthetic measurements that are provided by the virtual sources. This becomes an important issue in small animal and human studies. In addition, the same method may also be used to reduce the imaging time.

Green's function retrieval and passive imaging from correlations of wideband thermal radiations

We present an experimental demonstration of electromagnetic Green's function retrieval from thermal radiations in anechoic and reverberant cavities. The Green's function between two antennas is estimated by cross correlating milliseconds of decimeter noise. We show that the temperature dependence of the cross-correlation amplitude is well predicted by the blackbody theory in the Rayleigh-Jeans limit. The effect of a nonuniform temperature distribution on the cross-correlation time symmetry is also explored. Finally, we open a new way to image scatterers using ambient thermal radiations.

A unified optical theorem for scalar and vectorial wave fields

The generalized optical theorem is an integral relation for the angle-dependent scattering amplitude of an inhomogeneous scattering object embedded in a homogeneous background. It has been derived separately for several scalar and vectorial wave phenomena. Here a unified optical theorem is derived that encompasses the separate versions for scalar and vectorial waves. Moreover, this unified theorem also holds for scattering by anisotropic elastic and piezoelectric scatterers as well as bianisotropic (non-reciprocal) EM scatterers.

Generalized optical theorems for the reconstruction of Green's function of an inhomogeneous elastic medium

This paper investigates the reconstruction of elastic Green's function from the cross-correlation of waves excited by random noise in the context of scattering theory. Using a general operator equation-the resolvent formula-Green's function reconstruction is established when the noise sources satisfy an equipartition condition. In an inhomogeneous medium, the operator formalism leads to generalized forms of optical theorem involving the off-shell T-matrix of elastic waves, which describes scattering in the near-field. The role of temporal absorption in the formulation of the theorem is discussed. Previously established symmetry and reciprocity relations involving the on-shell T-matrix are recovered in the usual far-field and infinitesimal absorption limits. The theory is applied to a point scattering model for elastic waves. The T-matrix of the point scatterer incorporating all recurrent scattering loops is obtained by a regularization procedure. The physical significance of the point scatterer is discussed. In particular this model satisfies the off-shell version of the generalized optical theorem. The link between equipartition and Green's function reconstruction in a scattering medium is discussed.

Noise interferometry in an inhomogeneous environment in the geometric limit

An approximation to the transient Green's function G(x(a)∣x(b),t) between points x(a) and x(b) can be estimated by taking the time derivative of the correlation function C(ab)(t) of records of ambient noise measured at locations x(a) and x(b). From the general relationship between C(ab)(t) and G(x(a)∣x(b),t) it is shown, using a stationary-phase-like argument, that in an inhomogeneous environment in the geometric limit C(ab)(t) consists of a superposition of signed step functions and two-sided logarithmic singularities that are delayed in time by the travel times of the rays connecting x(a) and x(b).

Lagrangian and energy forms for retrieving the impulse response of the Earth due to random electromagnetic forcing

We distinguish between trivial and nontrivial differences in retrieving the real or imaginary parts of the Green's function. Trivial differences come from different Green's function definitions. The energy and lagrangian forms constitute nontrivial differences. Magnetic noise sources suffice to extract the quasistatic electromagnetic-field Earth impulse response in the lagrangian form. This is of interest for Earth subsurface imaging. A numerical example demonstrates that all source vector components are necessary to extract a single-field vector component.

On the two-point cross-correlation function of anisotropic, spatially homogeneous ambient noise in the ocean and its relationship to the Green's function

It is well established that the free-space Green's function can be recovered from the two-point cross-correlation function of a random noise field if the noise is white and isotropic. Ambient noise in the ocean rarely satisfies either of these conditions. However, a non-uniform spectrum could be pre-whitened by the application of a suitable filter but anisotropy cannot be so readily eliminated. To investigate the effects of vertical anisotropy, three azimuthally uniform, spatially homogeneous noise fields are analyzed, two of which are idealized, while the third is representative of ambient noise in the deep ocean. In each case, the coherence function, the cross-correlation function, and the derivative of the latter with respect to the correlation delay, are derived for vertical and horizontal alignments of the sensor pair. With vertical sensors, any step-function discontinuity in the directional density function is mapped into a delta function at an appropriate time delay in the derivative (with respect to time delay) of the cross-correlation function. No such mapping occurs with horizontal sensors. In this case, only horizontally traveling noise can generate delta functions in the derivative of the cross-correlation function, and these always appear at the retarded time on either side of the origin.

The reciprocity theorem for the scattered field is the progenitor of the generalized optical theorem

By analyzing correlation-type reciprocity theorems for wavefields in perturbed media, it is shown that the correlation-type reciprocity theorem for the scattered field is the progenitor of the generalized optical theorem. This reciprocity theorem, in contrast to the generalized optical theorem, allows for inhomogeneous background properties and does not make use of a far-field condition. This theorem specializes to the generalized optical theorem when considering a finite-size scatterer embedded in a homogeneous background medium and when utilizing the far-field condition. Moreover, it is shown that the reciprocity theorem for the scattered field is responsible for the cancellation of non-physical (spurious) arrivals in seismic interferometry, and as such provides the mathematical description of such arrivals. Even though here only acoustic waves are treated, the presented treatment is not limited to such wavefields and can be generalized to general wavefields. Therefore, this work provides the framework for deriving equivalents of the generalized optical theorem for general wavefields.

Cancellation of spurious arrivals in Green's function retrieval of multiple scattered waves

The Green's function for wave propagation can be extracted by cross-correlating field fluctuations excited on a closed surface that surrounds the employed receivers. This study treats an acoustic multiple scattering medium with discrete scatterers and shows that for a given source the cross-correlation of waves propagating along most combinations of scattering paths gives unphysical arrivals. Because theory predicts that the true Green's function is retrieved, such unphysical arrivals must cancel after integration over all sources. This cancellation occurs because the scattering amplitude of each scatterer satisfies the generalized optical theorem. The cross-correlation of scattered waves with themselves does not lead to the correct retrieval of scattered waves, because the cross-terms between the direct and scattered waves is essential.

Source-receiver wave field interferometry

Correlation or convolution of recordings of diffuse fields at a pair of locations have been shown to result in estimates of the Green's function between the two locations. Variously referred to as wave field or seismic interferometry in different fields of research, Green's functions can thus be constructed between either pairs of receivers or pairs of energy sources. Proofs of these results rely on representation theorems. We show how to derive three acoustic and elastic representation theorems that unify existing correlational and convolutional approaches. We thus derive three forms of interferometry that provide Green's functions on source-to-receiver paths, using only energy that has propagated from surrounding sources or to surrounding receivers. The three forms correspond to three possible canonical geometries. We thus allow interferometric theory and methods to be applied to commonly used source-receiver configurations.

Retrieving the impulse response of the Earth due to random electromagnetic forcing

A derivation is presented of Green's function in an arbitrary, heterogeneous conductive medium subject to random, ambient, uncorrelated noise sources. The approach for extracting Green's function is based on the correlation of time series of magnetic field components at two independent locations. As in the related case for the electric field, where the volume distribution of noise sources must be spatially correlated with the heterogeneous conductivity distribution, Green's function for magnetic field requires noise sources to be spatially correlated with the volume distribution of magnetic permeability. For applications of electromagnetic imaging of Earth's deep subsurface, the effect of magnetic permeability variations in the subsurface is often assumed to be negligible when compared to the effect of conductivity variations. Hence, the expressions derived here may be useful for passive electromagnetic subsurface imaging, in apparent contrast to their electric field counterparts. Numerical validation exercises are described which validate this theory for Green's function estimation in the low-frequency limit.

Representation theorems and Green's function retrieval for scattering in acoustic media

Reciprocity theorems for perturbed acoustic media are provided in the form of convolution- and correlation-type theorems. These reciprocity relations are particularly useful in the general treatment of both forward and inverse-scattering problems. Using Green's functions to describe perturbed and unperturbed waves in two distinct wave states, representation theorems for scattered waves are derived from the reciprocity relations. While the convolution-type theorems can be manipulated to obtain scattering integrals that are analogous to the Lippmann-Schwinger equation, the correlation-type theorems can be used to retrieve the scattering response of the medium by cross correlations. Unlike previous formulations of Green's function retrieval, the extraction of scattered-wave responses by cross correlations does not require energy equipartitioning. Allowing for uneven energy radiation brings experimental advantages to the retrieval of fields scattered by remote lossless and/or attenuative scatterers. These concepts are illustrated with a number of examples, including analytic solutions to a one-dimensional scattering problem, and a numerical example in the context of seismic waves recorded on the ocean bottom.

Generalized optical theorem for surface waves and layered media

We present a generalized optical theorem for surface waves. The theorem also applies to body waves since under many circumstances body waves can be written in terms of surface-wave modal summations. This theorem therefore extends the domain of applicability of the optical theorem from homogeneous background media to a general class of body and surface-wave propagation regimes within layered elastic media.

Retrieval of Green's functions of elastic waves from thermal fluctuations of fluid-solid systems

Fluctuation-dissipation and flow reversal theorems are used to study long-range correlation of thermal phonons in a stationary heterogeneous mechanical system comprised of arbitrary inhomogeneous fluid flow and anisotropic solid. At thermal equilibrium, with an appropriate choice of physical observables to characterize thermal fluctuations within the fluid and within the solid, the general integral expression for the two-point correlation function of the fluctuations reduces to a linear combination of deterministic Green's functions, which describe wave propagation in opposite directions between the two points. It is demonstrated that the cross-correlation of thermal noise contains as much information about the environment as can be obtained in active reciprocal transmission experiments with transceivers placed at the two points. These findings suggest a possible application of ambient noise cross-correlation to passive acoustic characterization of inhomogeneous flows in fluid-solid systems in laboratory and geophysical settings.

Cancellation of spurious arrivals in Green's function extraction and the generalized optical theorem

The extraction of the Green's function by cross correlation of waves recorded at two receivers nowadays finds much application. We show that for an arbitrary small scatterer, the cross terms of scattered waves give an unphysical wave with an arrival time that is independent of the source position. This constitutes an apparent inconsistency because theory predicts that such spurious arrivals do not arise, after integration over a complete source aperture. This puzzling inconsistency can be resolved for an arbitrary scatterer by integrating the contribution of all sources in the stationary phase approximation to show that the stationary phase contributions to the source integral cancel the spurious arrival by virtue of the generalized optical theorem. This work constitutes an alternative derivation of this theorem. When the source aperture is incomplete, the spurious arrival is not canceled and could be misinterpreted to be part of the Green's function. We give an example of how spurious arrivals provide information about the medium complementary to that given by the direct and scattered waves; the spurious waves can thus potentially be used to better constrain the medium.

Extracting the Green's function of attenuating heterogeneous acoustic media from uncorrelated waves

The Green's function of acoustic or elastic wave propagation can, for loss-less media, be retrieved by correlating the wave field that is excited by random sources and is recorded at two locations. Here the generalization of this idea to attenuating acoustic waves in an inhomogeneous medium is addressed, and it is shown that the Green's function can be retrieved from waves that are excited throughout the volume by spatially uncorrelated injection sources with a power spectrum that is proportional to the local dissipation rate. For a finite volume, one needs both volume sources and sources at the bounding surface for the extraction of the Green's functions. For the special case of a homogeneous attenuating medium defined over a finite volume, the phase and geometrical spreading of the Green's function is correctly retrieved when the volume sources are ignored, but the attenuation is not.

Unified Green's function retrieval by cross-correlation; connection with energy principles

It has been shown theoretically and observationally that the Green's function for acoustic and elastic waves can be retrieved by cross-correlating fluctuations recorded at two locations. We extend the concept of the extraction of the Green's function to a wide class of scalar linear systems. For systems that are not invariant under time reversal, the fluctuations must be excited by volume sources in order to satisfy the energy balance (equipartitioning) that is needed to extract the Green's function. The general theory for retrieving the Green's function is illustrated with examples that include the diffusion equation, Schrödinger's equation, a vibrating string, the acoustic wave equation, a vibrating beam, and the advection equation. Examples are also shown of situations where the Green's function cannot be extracted from ambient fluctuations. The general theory opens up new applications for the extraction of the Green's function from field correlations that include flow in porous media, quantum mechanics, and the extraction of the response of mechanical structures such as bridges.