Von Mises-Fisher approximation of multiple scattering process on the hypersphere

This paper presents a “method of moments” estimation technique for the study of multiple scattering on the hypersphere. The proposed model is similar to a compound Poisson process evolving on a special manifold: the unit hypersphere. The presented work makes use of an approximation result for multiply convolved von Mises-Fisher distributions on hyperspheres. Comparison with other approximations show the accuracy of the proposed model to provide estimators for the mean free path and concentration parameters when studying a multiple scattering process. Such a process is classically used to model the propagation of waves or particles in random media.