Separate observation of ballistic and scattered photons in the propagation of short laser pulses through a strongly scattering medium

The conditions are identified for simultaneous observation of the peaks of scattered and unscattered (ballistic) photons in a narrow pulsed laser beam crossing a strongly scattering medium. The experimental results are explained on the basis of a nonstationary two-flux model of radiation transport. An analytic expression is given for the contribution of ballistic photons to the transmitted radiation, as a function of the characteristics of the scattering medium. It is shown that the ballistic photon contribution can be increased by the use of high-contrast substances which alter selectively the absorption and scattering coefficients of the medium.