The dependent scattering effect (DSE), which arises from the wave nature of electromagnetic radiation, is a critical mechanism affecting the radiative properties of micro/nanoscale discrete disordered media (DDM). In the last a few decades, the approximate nature of radiative transfer equation (RTE) leads to a plethora of investigations of the DSE in various DDM, ranging from fluidized beds, photonic glass, colloidal suspensions and snow packs, etc. In this article, we give a general overview on the theoretical, numerical and experimental methods and progresses in the study of the DSE. We first present a summary of the multiple scattering theory of electromagnetic waves, including the analytic wave theory and Foldy-Lax equations, as well as its relationship with the RTE. Then we describe in detail the physical mechanisms that are critical to DSE and relevant theoretical considerations as well as numerical modeling methods. Experimental approaches to probe the radiative properties and relevant progresses in the experimental investigations of the DSE are also discussed. In addition, we give a brief review on the studies on the DSE and other relevant interference phenomena in mesoscopic physics and atomic physics, especially the coherent backscattering cone, Anderson localization, as well as the statistics and correlations in disordered media. We expect this review can provide profound and interdisciplinary insights to the understanding and manipulation of the DSE in disordered media for thermal engineering applications.
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