Phaseless inverse problems that use wave interference (Q1673678)

The article considers inverse coefficient problems for Schrödinger and Maxwell equations in the context of inverse scattering. The available data is the modulus of the full field that corresponds to two plane waves coming from opposite directions, with all the directions and all high frequencies available. The problems are considered in three dimensions. The first equation is the Schrödinger equation \[ (\Delta + k^2 -q(x))u = 0 \] with compactly supported non-negative potential \(q \in C^4\). The initial data -- given the frequency \(k\) and the direction \(\nu\) -- is the plane wave \(u_0(x,k,\nu) = e^{ikx \cdot \nu}\) and the full solution is \(u(x,k,\nu)\). The paper reduces the problem of recovering the potential from data \[ |u(x,k,\nu) + u(x,k,-\nu)|^2 \] for all directions and high frequencies. The problem is reduced to a tomography problem of recovering the function \(q\) from the integrals \[ \int_0^\infty q(x-s\nu) ds \] for all \(x\) and \(\nu\), which is known to have a unique solution. The reduction uses plane waves with infinitely high frequencies. The direction \(-\nu\) in \(u(x,k,-\nu)\) can be replaced by a set of vectors that fulfill the same role. The second model is the Maxwell system \[ \text{rot} H = -i \omega \varepsilon(x) E \; \text{ and } \text{rot} E = i\omega \mu_0 H, \] where the permeability \(\mu_0\) is constant, the permittivity \(\varepsilon \in C^\infty\) an unknown coefficient and the frequency of oscillations \(\omega > 0\). The permittivity \(\varepsilon\) is assumed to be a known constant outside a bounded set. Assuming a geometric condition related to a Riemannian metric arising from the permittivity and a condition on the equations, the permittivity can be recovered from measurements of the modulus of the full electric field or of the full magnetic field. The measurement is, as for the Schrödinger equation, the modulus of a sum of two plane waves that move in opposing directions and that are polarised in the same direction. The article provides sufficient conditions for the non-geometric assumption to hold.