Multiple scattering of polarized light in birefringent slab media: experimental verifications and simulations

The effective scattering Mueller matrices were measured for backward and forward scattering by applying a narrow polarized light on a polyacrylamide slab gel, which was strained vertically to generate birefringence inside. Monte Carlo simulations were performed in conditions that were the same as possible. The measured and simulated matrices were simplified to the reduced ones. They agreed well in both original and reduced forms. While they approximately take reciprocal forms for backward scattering, they approximately satisfy matrix forms that correspond to a reciprocal position of the mirror image for forward scattering. The reduced matrices were factorized by the Lu-Chipman polar decomposition to obtain the polarization parameters. The polarization parameters were in good agreement between the measurement and simulation and showed characteristic features of anisotropic slab media with a birefringence axis parallel to the slab surface.