Uniqueness for phase retrieval in certain inverse medium scattering problems (Q6899457)

Let \(m(x)>0\) be such that \(m-1\) has compact support. This paper considers the Helmholtz equation \(\Delta u + k^{2} m u = 0\) in \(\mathbb{R}^{2}\) and studies the inverse problem of determining the refractive index \(m\) from the phaseless data \(\{|u(x)| : |x|=R\}\) for sufficiently large \(R>0\). The author obtains a positive result under additional assumptions on \(m\):\N\N{Theorem.} Suppose that \(m>0\) is radially symmetric, piecewise continuous, and that \(m-1\) has compact support with \(\|m-1\|_{L^{\infty}}\) sufficiently small. Let \(\Gamma\subset S^{1}\) be a set containing a limit point. Let \(u\) be a solution to the Helmholtz equation \(\Delta u + k^{2} m u = 0\) in \(\mathbb{R}^{2}\). Then \(m\) can be uniquely determined from the measurement \(\{|u(R\hat{\theta})| : \hat{\theta}\in \Gamma\}\) for sufficiently large \(R>0\).