Comprehensive study on the accuracy of the anomalous diffraction approximation

This study presents an extensive evaluation of the accuracy of the anomalous diffraction approximation in modeling light scattering by small particles, covering a broad range of particle sizes and refractive indices typical of biological systems. To the best of our knowledge, no comprehensive study has assessed the approximation's accuracy across multiple relevant optical scattering parameters for biological particles. We present detailed maps that highlight the relative error of the anomalous diffraction approximation across various particle scattering calculations. The goal of this work is to offer a more thorough understanding of the approximation's accuracy in modeling light scattering by individual particles than has been previously explored.