Non-Gaussian models for the statistics of scattered waves

This paper addresses problems associated with the development of widely applicable non-Gaussian noise models, particularly with reference to the statistical properties of scattered waves. A combination of phenomenological arguments and exact solutions of specific scattering problems are used to elucidate the significance of one model—K-distributed noise—which has several attractive features and has already found many applications. A full statistical-mechanical formulation is developed for non-Gaussian compound Markov processes, with this model as a special case. The implications for numerical simulation of correlated non-Gaussian noise are explored and comparisons made with experimental data. A brief review of current applications of the K-distribution model is given.