On the Theory of Light Propagation through Disordered Solids. Scattering from Configurational Fluctuations

The propagation of light through disordered solids is studied from a general point of view. It is shown that the total scattered light consists of two parts corresponding to phase space fluctuations and configurational fluctuations of the electromagnetic field. A general microscopic expression for the differential cross‐section of scattering from configurational fluctuations is obtained. The theory is applied to a free electron gas with fluctuating density and a non‐interacting system of polarization oscillators with fluctuating resonance frequency.