Dependence of photometric and polarimetric characteristics of backscattered radiation on properties of discrete random medium: some numerical results and theoretical conclusions

In the present paper some numerical results, based on the theory developed in double and third scattering approximation are presented. The influences of microphysical and morphological properties of discrete random medium on photometric and polarimetric characteristics of backscattered radiation are discussed. If the effective refractive index of the medium is kept the same, the differences in the features of the opposition effects are caused by differences in the microscopic characteristics of the scatterers. From theoretical observations, it is concluded that the results demonstrate that the state of polarization of the back scattered radiation is controlled by the state of polarization of singly scattered radiation. It is well known that the positive polarization of light scattered by isolated particle leads to a negative polarization feature in the backscattering direction. The angular dependence of the polarization state for wavelength sized spherical particles is much more complex and oscillatory. The interference may lead to a more complex dependence of polarization on the scattering angle, with positive and negative polarization regions appearing simultaneously. The resulting interference of doubly scattered waves can result in positive polarization as well as negative polarization.