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Updated: Jul 8, 2026

Scattering And Absorption of Light in Planetary Regoliths
Published on: July 1, 2019
Reflection symmetry of a sphere's internal field and its consequences on scattering: a microphysical approach
Matthew J Berg1, Christopher M Sorensen, Amitabha Chakrabarti
1Department of Physics, Kansas State University, Mnahattan, Kansas 66505-2601, USA.
Abstract:
We examine the reflection symmetries of the electromagnetic wave inside of a uniform spherical particle and identify the consequences of the symmetries for the Stokes parameters describing the polarization state of the far-field scattered wave. The connection between the two waves is described from a microphysical perspective that illustrates the wavelet-superposition origin of the scattered wave. In contrast to more conventional approaches, this microphysical perspective yields new insight into the physical character of the scattering of a plane wave by a sphere. The results of simulations are presented, which graphically demonstrate the relation between the symmetries present in the internal wave and the polarization state of the scattered wave.
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