Polarization and Depolarization of Light

Electromagnetic scattering by a small particle or a collection of small particles can produce light with polarization characteristics different from those of the incident beam. If the incident beam is unpolarized, the scattered light generally has at least one nonzero Stokes parameter other than intensity, and this phenomenon is often called “polarization.” When the incident beam if fully linearly or circularly polarized, the scattered light may become partially polarized or even totally unpolarized, and this phenomenon is called “depolarization.” In this paper we use exact solutions of Maxwell’s equations and the vector radiative transfer equation to study the dependence of polarization and depolarization on such characteristics of scattering particles as size, refractive index, and shape. We also discuss the use of polarization and depolarization phenomena in remote sensing studies and particle characterization.

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