Self-averaging in time reversal for the parabolic wave equation

Abstract

We analyze the self-averaging properties of time-reversed solutions of the paraxial wave equation with random coefficients, which we take to be Markovian in the direction of propagation. This allows us to construct an approximate martingale for the phase space Wigner transform of two wave fields. Using a priori $L^2$-bounds available in the time-reversal setting, we prove that the Wigner transform in the high frequency limit converges in probability to its deterministic limit, which is the solution of a transport equation.