REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved 0MB NO. 0704-0188 Public Reporting burden for this collection of infonnation is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comment regardmg this burden estimates or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for mformation Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202 -4302, and to the OfTice of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188,) Washington, DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave Blank) 2. REPORT DATE 3/19/2003 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED Final Report, 7/1/2001-8/31/2002 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE A feasibility study of optical imaging through atmospheric obscurants 5. FUNDING NUMBERS DAAD19-01-1-0668 6. AUTHOR(S) Robert. R. Alfano, W. Cai, S. K. Gayen 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS{ES) Department of Physics City College of CUNY New York, NY 10031 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBER 9. SPONSORING / MONTTORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) U. S. Army Research Office P.O. Box 12211 Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-2211 10. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY REPORT NUMBER ^ain,\-Pf4 11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES The views, opinions and/or findings contained in this report are those of the author(s) and should not be construed as an official Department of the Army position, policy or decision, unless so designated by other documentation. 12 a. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT Approved for public release; distribution unlimited. 13. ABSTRACT (Maximum 200 words) 12 b. DISTRIBUTION CODE Optical imaging of objects through atmospheric obscurants is an area of active research driven by national defense, commercial, and scientific interests. Multiple scattering of light by particles in the intervening medium (such as, cloud, aerosol, fog, smoke in the atmosphere) reduces signal intensity and signal-to-noise ratio, contributes to the blurring of image. Using pulsed lasers, time-gated detectors, and other techniques to sort out the ballistic and early snake photons from the diffusive photons it is possible to extract information about objects embedded in turbid media. The objective of the research is to carry out a theoretical investigation for photon starvation and image resolution, associated with imaging of a distant object through a scattering and obscuring medium. In this research, we estimate the feasibility of ballistic and snake light imaging at different distances computed using our analytical cumulant expansion method and compare it with results of the Monte Carlo simulation. 14. SUBJECT TERMS Optical imaging, Ballistic light. Scattered light, Cumulant solution of radiative transfer equation, Monte-Carlo simulation 17. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OR REPORT UNCLASSIFIED NSN 7540-01-280-5500 18. SECURITY CLASSinCATION ON THIS PAGE UNCLASSIFIED 19. SECURITY CLASSmCATION OF ABSTRACT UNCLASSIFIED 15. NUMBER OF PAGES 16. PRICE CODE 20. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT UL Standard Form 298 (Rev.t89) Prescribed by ANSI Std. 239-18 298-102