Propagation inhibition and wave localization in a two-dimensional random liquid medium

Acoustic propagation and scattering in water containing many parallel air-filled cylinders is studied in an exact manner. Two situations are considered and compared; (1) wave propagating through the array of cylinders, imitating common experimental setups, and (2) wave transmitted from a source located inside the ensemble. We show that waves can be blocked from propagation by disorders in the first scenario, but such an inhibition does not necessarily lead to actual wave localization in the medium. The results indicate that the traditional method may be ambiguous in discerning localization effects. Furthermore, the results reveal the phenomenon of wave localization in a range of frequencies.