Abstract
The scattering of linearly polarized light by aerosol particles produces partly polarized light whose ellipticity is theoretically and experimentally investigated for the specific case of a continental atmospheric aerosol in a volume of air. With the Mie theory and under the assumption of various aerosol size-distribution models, the ellipticity has been computed as a function of the scattering angle for various wavelengths. The computations have been based upon complex indices of refraction: M = 1.5−0.0i, M = 1.5−0.01i, M = 1.5−0.1i, M = 1.44−0.0i, M = 1.4−0.0i, M = 1.33−0.0i. The comparison between computed and measured values for the wavelengths of λ = 0.45 μ to λ = 0.65 μ discloses for dry aerosol a real part of the refractive index m = 1.50 and an imaginary part 0.01 ≤ k < 0.1. With moist aerosol, the real part of the refractive index as well as the imaginary part decreases.
© 1966 Optical Society of America
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