On the diffusion of rays in anisotropic random media

Summary form only given. It is well known that random inhomogeneities of plasma concentration in the Earth ionosphere are strongly stretched along the geomagnetic field. The molecules of liquid crystals are elongated, too. The features of scattering of electromagnetic waves travelling in a chaotic medium along such inhomogeneities are considered. The Fokker-Planck equation for the probability density of coordinates and the propagation angle is obtained. The numerical solution of the equation, shows that the angle probability density has a local minimum in the initial direction. As the, average ray intensity is similar to this probability density, in the case of stretched inhomogeneities it means the rays deflect, in the main, in the direction of the smaller scales of inhomogeneities. It is shown the more the inhomogeneities are stretched, the stronger this effect is. The result is completely agreed with the experimental results of Aistov and Gavrilenko (see Optics and Spectroscopy, vol.83, no.3, p.427, 1997) and may be useful for exploration of statistically anisotropic media.