Fokker-Planck equation for transport of wave packets in nonlinear disordered media

Nicolas Cherroret, Thomas Wellens

Published 2011-03-24, updated 2011-04-06Version 2

Starting from first principles, we formulate a theory of wave packet propagation in a nonlinear, disordered medium of any dimension, through the derivation of a Fokker-Planck transport equation. Our theory is based on a diagrammatic expansion of the wave packet's density, and is supported by a heuristic picture that involves a Boltzmann equation with an effective, external potential. Our approach also confirms results obtained in previous work for two-dimensional, nonlinear disordered media.