An optimization approach for the localization of defects in an inhomogeneous medium from acoustic far-field measurements at a fixed frequency

We are interested in the localization of defects in non-absorbing inhomogeneous media with far-field measurements generated by plane waves. In localization problems, most so-called sampling methods are based on a characterization involving point-sources and the range of some implicitly defined operator. We present here a way to deal with this implicit operator by the means of an optimization approach in the lines of the well-known inf criterion for the factorization method.