Project description
A universal theory of wave propagation independent of carrier or transport media
The wave nature of sound and light is behind applications and fields including ultrasound and optical imaging, radar and sonar technologies and seismology. However, just as the ripples of water in a lake break over leaves on the lake's surface, wave-front aberrations and scattering can degrade the integrity of sound and light waves in devices and technologies. Matrix formalisms have been developed to describe wave propagation between arrays of transducers in acoustics, optics and seismic imaging. Now, the EU-funded REMINISCENCE project is planning to unite these types of descriptions in a universally applicable matrix approach for large networks of sensors, leading to an information theory of wave imaging.
Objective
In wave imaging, we aim at characterizing an unknown environment by actively probing it and then recording the waves reflected by the medium. It is, for example, the principle of ultrasound imaging, optical coherence tomography for light or reflection seismology in geophysics. However, wave propagation from the sensors to the focal plane is often degraded by the heterogeneities of the medium itself. They can induce wave-front distortions (aberrations) and multiple scattering events that can strongly degrade the resolution and the contrast of the image. Aberration and multiple scattering thus constitute the most fundamental limits for imaging in all domains of wave physics.
However, the emergence of large-scale sensors array and recent advances in data science pave the way towards a next revolution in wave imaging. In that context, I want to develop a universal matrix approach of wave imaging in heterogeneous media. Such a formalism is actually the perfect tool to capture the input-output correlations of the wave-field with a large network of sensors. This matrix approach will allow to overcome aberrations over large imaging volumes, thus breaking the field-of-view limitations of conventional adaptive focusing methods. It will also lead to the following paradigm shift in wave imaging: Whereas multiple scattering is generally seen as a nightmare for imaging, the matrix approach will take advantage of it for ultra-deep imaging. Besides direct imaging applications, this project will also provide a high-resolution tomography of the wave velocity and a promising characterization tool based on multiple scattering quantification. Based on all these advances, the ultimate goal of this project will be to develop an information theory of wave imaging. Throughout this project, I will apply all these concepts both in optics (for in-depth imaging of biological tissues), ultrasound imaging (for medical diagnosis) and seismology (for monitoring of volcanoes and fault zones).
Fields of science
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesdata science
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesgeologyvolcanology
- social sciencespolitical sciencespolitical transitionsrevolutions
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesgeologyseismology
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesgeophysics
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesacousticsultrasound
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
ERC-COG - Consolidator GrantHost institution
75794 Paris
France