Abstract

A sequence of rainbows is produced in light scattering by a particle of high symmetry in the short-wavelength limit, and a supernumerary interference pattern occurs to one side of each rainbow. Using both a ray-tracing procedure and the Debye-series decomposition of first-order perturbation wave theory, I examine the spacing of the supernumerary maxima and minima as a function of the cylinder rotation angle when an elliptical-cross-section cylinder is normally illuminated by a plane wave. I find that the supernumerary spacing depends sensitively on the cylinder-cross-section shape, and the spacing varies sinusoidally as a function of the cylinder rotation angle for small cylinder ellipticity. I also find that relatively large uncertainties in the supernumerary spacing affect the rainbow angle only minimally.

© 2000 Optical Society of America

Supernumerary spacing of rainbows produced by an elliptical-cross-section cylinder. II. Experiment

Charles L. Adler, David Phipps, Kirk W. Saunders, Justin K. Nash, and James A. Lock
Appl. Opt. 40(15) 2535-2545 (2001)

Rainbow scattering by a cylinder with a nearly elliptical cross section

Charles L. Adler, James A. Lock, and Bradley R. Stone
Appl. Opt. 37(9) 1540-1550 (1998)

Amplification of high-order rainbows of a cylinder with an elliptical cross section

James A. Lock, Charles L. Adler, Bradley R. Stone, and Patrick D. Zajak
Appl. Opt. 37(9) 1527-1533 (1998)

Rainbows by elliptically deformed drops. I. Möbius shift for high-order rainbows

James A. Lock and Gunther P. Können
Appl. Opt. 56(19) G88-G97 (2017)

High-order rainbows of a spherical particle produced by near-grazing incident light

James A. Lock
Appl. Opt. 56(19) G75-G87 (2017)