Abstract

The degree of polarization as well as the direction of the polarization are calculated by a Monte Carlo method for homogeneous layers. Two solar zenith angles and a range of optical thicknesses up to 10 are considered. The results are compared with calculations for single scattered photons. For a given pair of incident and scattered directions, there are only two possible values for the direction of the polarization for single scattering: it must be within or perpendicular to the scattering plane. The choice between these two values depends only on the sign of the element M⁻ in the first row and second column of the scattering matrix in the I, Q U, V representation. In most cases there is little change in the direction of the polarization when multiple scattering is taken into account, so that this quantity with respect to a meridian plane can usually be predicted from a very simple trigonometric relationship to good accuracy. The partial scattering angles at which M⁻ changes sign are unique for a particular aerosol model. Thus different size distributions and indices of refraction can be distinguished by measurements of the direction of polarization.

© 1972 Optical Society of America

Degree and Direction of Polarization of Multiple Scattered Light. 2: Earth’s Atmosphere with Aerosols

Gilbert N. Plass and George W. Kattawar
Appl. Opt. 11(12) 2866-2879 (1972)

Radiance and Polarization of Multiple Scattered Light from Haze and Clouds

George W. Kattawar and Gilbert N. Plass
Appl. Opt. 7(8) 1519-1527 (1968)

Backward Monte Carlo Calculations of the Polarization Characteristics of the Radiation Emerging from Spherical-Shell Atmospheres

Dave G. Collins, Wolfram G. Blättner, Michael B. Wells, and Henry G. Horak
Appl. Opt. 11(11) 2684-2696 (1972)

Radiation in the earth’s atmosphere: its radiance, polarization, and ellipticity

Stephen J. Hitzfelder, Gilbert N. Plass, and George W. Kattawar
Appl. Opt. 15(10) 2489-2500 (1976)

Multiple scattered radiation emerging from Rayleigh and continental haze layers. 1: Radiance, polarization, and neutral points

George W. Kattawar, Gilbert N. Plass, and Stephen J. Hitzfelder
Appl. Opt. 15(3) 632-647 (1976)