Expand this Topic clickable element to expand a topic
Skip to content
Optica Publishing Group

Finite-difference time domain method for light scattering by small ice crystals in three-dimensional space

Not Accessible

Your library or personal account may give you access

Abstract

The finite-difference time domain (FDTD) method for the solution of light scattering by nonspherical particles has been developed for small ice crystals of hexagonal shapes including solid and hollow columns, plates, and bullet rosettes commonly occurring in cirrus clouds. To account for absorption, we have introduced the effective permittivity and conductivity to circumvent the required complex calculations in the direct discretization of the basic Maxwell equations. In the construction of the finite-difference scheme for the time-marching iteration for the near field the mean values of dielectric constants are defined and evaluated by the Maxwell–Garnett rule. In computing the scattered field in the radiation zone (far field) and the absorption cross section, we have applied a new algorithm involving the integration of the electric field over the volume inside the scatterer on the basis of electromagnetic principles. This algorithm removes the high-angular-resolution requirement in integrating the scattered energy for the computation of the scattering cross section. The applicability and the accuracy of the FDTD technique in three-dimensional space are validated by comparison with Mie scattering results for a number of size parameters and wavelengths. We demonstrate that neither the conventional geometric optics method nor the Mie theory can be used to approximate the scattering, absorption, and polarization features for hexagonal ice crystals with size parameters from approximately 5 to 20.

© 1996 Optical Society of America

Full Article  |  PDF Article
More Like This
Application of the pseudospectral time-domain method to the scattering of light by nonspherical particles

Guang Chen, Ping Yang, and George W. Kattawar
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 25(3) 785-790 (2008)

Geometric-optics–integral-equation method for light scattering by nonspherical ice crystals

Ping Yang and K. N. Liou
Appl. Opt. 35(33) 6568-6584 (1996)

Cited By

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Cited by links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription

Figures (9)

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Figure files are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription

Equations (49)

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Equations are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription

Select as filters


Select Topics Cancel
© Copyright 2024 | Optica Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved