Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 3, 2026

Scattering And Absorption of Light in Planetary Regoliths
Published on: July 1, 2019
Light scattering by nonspherical raindrops beyond the spheroidal approximation
Abstract:
How nonspherical raindrops scatter light and how their scattering deviates from spheroidal approximations remain poorly quantified owing to complex geometries and extreme size parameters (χ>104). Here, we extend the three-dimensional vectorial complex ray model (VCRM3D) to investigate light scattering by Beard-Chuang (BC) raindrops, the established equilibrium model for realistic falling drops. Validated against Lorenz-Mie theory and the multilevel fast multipole algorithm, our results characterize the light scattering signatures of BC raindrops and quantify their discrepancies from those of spheroids. Unlike the monotonic increase for spheroids, BC backscattering efficiency Qback exhibits non-monotonic behavior governed by surface curvature, peaking at D≈4.2 mm before declining.
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