Forward scattering and size parameter in layered spherical aerosol particles

Abstract We investigate the scattering amplitude, phases, and Mueller Matrix Elements of polarized light scattering off a layered aerosol particle, with the goal of finding which combinations of the above quantities are most sensitive to the existence and thickness of a layer, the size of the particle, and the remaining optical parameters of the particle. Particle size parameters considered are 1 to 25; layer thickness 0 to particle size, indices of refraction from 1.33 to 2.50 and scattering angle from 0 to 180 degrees. Tunable lasers are proposed to enable scanning over the size parameter of a given aerosol droplet. Plots of the scattering amplitude, and Mueller Matrix elements for selected cases are shown, and conclusions are drawn.