Optical properties of inhomogeneous media

A theory is presented for the optical properties of inhomogeneous media consisting of small particles in a continuous dielectric host. In contrast to the commonly used Maxwell-Garnett approach, our theory includes the dipole-dipole coupling between the randomly distributed particles. The pronounced disorder-induced broadening explains the large width of typical experimental absorption lines and thus resolved the long-standing discrepancy between measured spectra and the predictions of the Maxwell-Garnett model.