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Diffusive to quasi-ballistic random laser: incoherent and coherent models

We study the crossover between the diffusive and quasi-ballistic regimes of random lasers. In particular, we compare incoherent models based on the diffusion equation and the radiative transfer equation (RTE), which neglect all wave effects, with a coherent wave model for the random laser threshold. We show that both the incoherent and the coherent models predict qualitatively similar thresholds, with a smooth transition from a diffuse to a quasi-ballistic regime. The shape of the intensity distribution in the sample as predicted by the RTE model at threshold is also in good agreement with the coherent model. The approximate incoherent models thus provide useful analytical predictions for the threshold of random lasers as well as the shape of the random laser modes at threshold.