  A novel statistical approach based on the Wigner transform is proposed for
the description of partially incoherent optical wave dynamics in nonlinear
media. An evolution equation for the Wigner transform is derived from a
nonlinear Schrodinger equation with arbitrary nonlinearity. It is shown that
random phase fluctuations of an incoherent plane wave lead to a Landau-like
damping effect, which can stabilize the modulational instability. In the limit
of the geometrical optics approximation, incoherent, localized, and stationary
wave-fields are shown to exist for a wide class of nonlinear media.
