  We present a detailed numerical and theoretical analysis of the recently
discovered phenomenon of coherent forward scattering. This effect manifests
itself as a macroscopic interference peak in the forward direction of the
momentum distribution of a matter wave launched with finite velocity in a
random potential. Focusing on the two-dimensional case, we show that coherent
forward scattering generally arises due the confinement of the wave in a finite
region of space, and explain under which conditions it can be seen as a genuine
signature of Anderson localization.
