Scattering of partially polarized light by aligned atoms

A compact expression for the cross section of scattering of an arbitrarily polarized light by aligned atomic systems is obtained, in which the dependence on the geometric parameters and the Stokes parameters specifying the state of partial polarization of the incident radiation is represented in explicit form. The effect of atomic alignment and the processes of dissipation of the light energy on the polarization specific features and the angular distribution of the scattered light is investigated. In particular, it is shown that, if a dissipative channel is accessible, the angular distribution and the degree of linear polarization of scattered light depend on the degree of circular polarization of the incident radiation η₂. Dissipative processes also induce the circular polarization of the light scattered by aligned atoms when η₂=0.     

Manifestation of the second-order alignment in light scattering by polarized atoms

An expression for the cross section of light scattering by axisymmetrically aligned atomic systems is derived in a compact form. The cross section under consideration is proportional to the state multipole of the fourth rank. The effect of the second-order alignment determined by the fourth-rank state multipole on the polarization and the angular distribution of scattered light is investigated. The polarization of incident light can be arbitrary and, in the general case, is specified by the Stokes parameters. In particular, it is demonstrated that the second-order alignment cannot induce circular polarization of scattered light and does not influence the dissipation-induced effects of circular dichroism associated with the first-order alignment but leads to a change in the angular distribution and the degree of linear polarization of the scattered light.     

Second-order orientation effects in light scattering by polarized atoms

A compact expression is derived for the part of the cross section for light scattering by axisymmetrically polarized atomic systems proportional to the third-rank state multipole. The effect of the second-order orientation determined by this state multipole on the polarization and angular distribution of the scattered light is studied. The polarization of the incident light can be arbitrary and is specified by the Stokes parameters. A number of orientation effects in the scattering process are shown to be induced precisely by the second-order orientation. In particular, when nonpolarized light is scattered by an oriented atom, the scattering intensity in the perpendicular direction depends on the second-order orientation alone. The second-order orientation also preserves circular dichroism in the linear polarization of the forward-and back-scattered light.     

Theory of spin polarization phenomena in atomic and molecular photoeffects

A compact invariant expression for the angular distribution of photoelectrons formed as a result of photoionization of axisymmetrically polarized atoms and molecules, including optically active molecules, is derived from the general symmetry considerations and using a recently developed bipolar harmonic reduction technique. In the angular distribution of photoelectrons, as well as in the total photoionization cross section, the dependence on all the geometric parameters is separated completely. The polarization of ionizing radiation can be arbitrary, with the partial polarization being specified by the Stokes parameters. The expression for the angular distribution of photoelectrons escaping from an atomic-molecular system oriented in the first order also determines the structure of the expression for the photoionization cross section of an unpolarized system with allowance for the spin polarization of a photoelectron or a photoion with the spin 1/2. The roles played by circular dichroism, chirality, etc., in the process of photoionization of oriented and aligned systems are analyzed in detail.     

Scattering of polarized photons at a free magnetic moment

Formulas are derived for the differential effective scattering cross section for elliptically polarized radiation, the magnetic moment being initially at rest with the spin oriented. The cases of linear and circular polarization are considered in detail, as is the case of unpolarlzed radiation. The formulas give the polarization of the scattered radiation as a function of the incident polarization and of the spin orientation.We are indebted to Prfessor A. A. Sokolov for proposing the topic and for discussing the results.     

Manifestation of anisotropic collisional generation of higher polarization moments in polarization of quadrupole emission

Direct observability of polarization moments of a higher order—octupole orientation of atomic angular momenta (κ=3) and their hexadecapole alignment (κ=4)—from polarization of quadrupole radiation is discussed. The case when atoms are excited through dipole absorption of light producing orientation or alignment of angular momenta with κ=1 or 2 and higher polarization moments are induced by collisions with a beam of particles is considered. It is shown that differences in the laws of transformation of polarization moments of various ranks κ in rotations of coordinate axes allow us to select the pure contribution of the higher polarization moment under study from the signal of polarization of quadrupole emission by excluding the contribution of orientation or alignment with κ=1 or 2. Optimum systems of coordinate axes for the observation of octupole orientation from circular polarization of light and for the observation of hexadecapole alignment from linear polarization of light, in which the pure contribution of the higher polarization moment under study to polarization of quadrupole emission reaches its maximum, are calculated.     

Relationship between cross section and matrix normalization of polarized radiation scattering

A simple relationship between the total scattering cross section and the normalizing constant of the scattering matrix for the general case of an arbitrary scattering particle and elliptically polarized incident radiation is obtained. The polarized radiation is described by the Stokes parameters I, Q, U, V. The obtained relationship is a consequence of two forms of energy conservation. The first one is in terms of the total scattering cross section. The other one involves the normalizing constant of the scattering matrix. The obtained relationship contains dimensionless integrals of the radiation scattered over all directions of scattering. The integrals depend on the elements of the first row of the scattering matrix and on the relative values of the Stokes parameters of the incident radiation. In the case of cross section, the incident radiation is assumed to be a plane wave. In the case of normalization constant, the incident radiation is assumed to be a convergent beam. The possible dependence of the scattering integrals on specificities of the particle illumination is taken into account in the obtained relationship. The relationship may be helpful in the various cases. So, the relationship allows one to determine any of the two characteristics of the scattering process under investigation, cross section or normalizing constant, via the other one. The relationship can be used for obtaining the scattering integrals and for analyzing the influence of the incident radiation polarization on cross section and normalizing constant.     

Elastic light scattering by semiconductor quantum dots of arbitrary shape

Elastic light scattering by low-dimensional quantum objects without a change in the frequency is theoretically investigated in terms of the quantum perturbation theory. The differential cross section of resonance light scattering from any excitons in any quantum dots is calculated. It is demonstrated that, when the light wavelengths considerably exceed the quantum-dot size, the polarization and angular distribution of the scattered light do not depend on the shape, the size, or the configuration of quantum dots. In this case, the total light scattering cross section is independent of the quantum-dot size. If the radiative damping of an exciton exceeds the nonradiative damping, the total light scattering cross section at resonance is of the order of the light wavelength squared. The radiative damping associated with the long-range exchange interaction between electrons and holes is calculated for any excitons and any quantum dots.     

Coherent excitation of then=3 level of hydrogen in a field free region

The theory of coherent excitation of then=3 level of atomic hydrogen by electron impact is studied using density matrix techniques. A set of multipole parameters is defined which allows to characterise coherently excited states with different angular momenta. Numerical results of these parameters, calculated in first order Born approximation, are tabulated for several energies and angles. Angular distribution and polarization of Balmer-α radiation are expressed in terms of the initial multipole parameters for the case that scattered electrons and emitted photons are detected in coincidence. The theory of cascade effects is briefly considered and applied to the case where scattered electrons and Lyman-α photons are detected in coincidence, generalising earlier formulations. Most of the formulas presented here are quite general and can be applied, for example, to an analysis of light emitted by beam foil excited hydrogenic levels.     

Corrections to the Thomson cross section caused by relativistic effects and by the presence of the drift velocity of a classical charged particle in the field of a monochromatic plane wave

An approach to the solution of the relativistic problem of the motion of a classical charged particle in the field of a monochromatic plane wave with an arbitrary polarization (linear, circular, or elliptic) is proposed. It is based on the analysis of the 4-vector equation of motion of the charged particle together with the 4-vector and tensor equations for the components of the electromagnetic field tensor of a monochromatic plane wave. This approach provides analytical expressions for the time-averaged square of the 4-acceleration of the charge, as well as for the averaged values of any quantities periodic in the time of the reference frame. Expressions for the integral power of scattered radiation, which is proportional to the time-averaged square of the 4-acceleration of the charge, and for the integral scattering cross section, which is the ratio of the power of scattered radiation to the intensity of incident radiation, are obtained for an arbitrary inertial reference frame. An expression for the scattering cross section, which coincides with the known results at the circular and linear polarizations of the incident waves and describes the case of elliptic polarization of the incident wave, is obtained for the reference frame where the charged particle is on average at rest. An expression for the scattering cross section including relativistic effects and the nonzero drift velocity of a particle in this system is obtained for the laboratory reference frame, where the initial velocity of the charged particle is zero. In the case of the circular polarization of the incident wave, the scattering cross section in the laboratory frame is equal to the Thompson cross section.     

Microscopic theory of scattering of weak electromagnetic radiation by a dense ensemble of ultracold atoms

Based on the developed quantum microscopic theory, the interaction of weak electromagnetic radiation with dense ultracold atomic clouds is described in detail. The differential and total cooperative scattering cross sections are calculated for monochromatic radiation as particular examples of application of the general theory. The angular, spectral, and polarization properties of scattered light are determined. The dependence of these quantities on the sample size and concentration of atoms is studied and the influence of collective effects is analyzed.     

Theory of optical polarization due to electron capture from localized target states by fast ions

The excited-projectile state density matrix is derived from the impact-parameter version of the Oppenheimer-Brinkman-Kramers approximation for a one electron-capture process from localized target states. The result is used to determine the Stokes parameters of the emitted light. General conditions for the production of atomic orientation are investigated and the connection to a recently published classical model is established. Large values of atomic orientation and alignment are found for capture into a hydrogenic 2p state of the projectile. A simple model for the beam-tilted-foil interaction yields a sinβ dependence of the circular polarization on the tilt angleβ. Model calculations for beam-surface scattering show good agreement with experimental data for the relative Stokes parameters.     

A relativistic description of the polarization mechanism of elastic bremsstrahlung

A completely relativistic mechanism for describing polarization bremsstrahlung caused by an elastic collision of a charged particle with a many-electron target was suggested. Multipole expansions for the amplitude and cross section of the process taking into account radiation lag effects were obtained. Including higher order multipoles was shown to result in substantial asymmetry of the angular distribution of emitted photons compared with the dipole case and in a noticeable change in the spectral characteristics of polarization radiation. The cross section of polarization bremsstrahlung was found to increase logarithmically as the energy of incident particles grew.     

On the problem of polarization characteristics of radio waves in a randomly inhomogeneous magnetoactive plasma

Expressions for the Stokes parameters when radio waves propagate in a turbulent magnetoactive plasma have been obtained using a refractive scattering method. The problem of the spatial coherence of polarized radiation is considered. Expressions for the correlation functions and fluctuation dispersions of the Stokes parameters are found in the case of saturated wave field fluctuation. It is shown that the fluctuation of the circular polarized component will be observed in the received radiation even if the circular polarization is absent in the radiation that is incident on the magnetoactive plasma slab. A method is proposed to define the preference orientation of the magnetic field in the inhomogeneous layer of space plasma, which is biased on the simultaneous measurement of the space correlation functions of the I, V Stokes parameter fluctuation and Faraday rotation of the radiation polarization plane from the source with known polarization characteristics.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 39, No. 8, pp. 1007–1013, August, 1996.This work was supported in part by the Russian Foundation for Fundamental Research under Project No. 96-02-18632.     

On a technique for determining the predominant orientation of crystal particles in clouds by virtue of polarization measurements in the MM-wave band

We propose a technique for analyzing polarization characteristics of microwave radiation scattered by cloud particles with different distributions over sizes, shape, and spatial orientation. We have found a combination of Stokes parameters that is weakly sensitive to the distribution of the scattering particles over sizes and eccentricities but very sensitive to their distribution over spatial orientation. Institute, of Applied Physics, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 42, No. 9, pp. 839–844, August 1999.     

Vector statistics of multiply scattered light in a random medium with large inhomogeneities

The distribution function of the scattered radiation intensity is calculated in the approximation of the basic polarization modes. In such an approximation, the distribution function is represented in terms of the degree of polarization of the initially circularly and linearly polarized waves transmitted by the sample. The effect of the difference of the decay rates for the circular and linear polarization modes on the statistics of the light waves that are multiply scattered in the medium with large inhomogeneities is analyzed.     

Multiple scattering of elliptically polarized light in two-dimensional medium with large inhomogeneities

For elliptically polarized light incident on a two-dimensional medium with large inhomogeneities, the Stokes parameters of scattered waves are calculated. Multiple scattering is assumed to be sharply anisotropic. The degree of polarization of scattered radiation is shown to be a nonmonotonic function of depth when the incident wave is circularly polarized or its polarization vector is not parallel to the symmetry axis of the inhomogeneities.     

The polarization-angular structure and elliptical dichroism of the cross sections for three-photon bound-bound transitions in atoms

Using the electric dipole approximation, we present, in invariant form, the cross section of an arbitrary three-photon transition between the discrete states of an atom with total angular momenta J _i and J _f. The cross section contains scalar and mixed products of the photon polarization vectors, and invariant atomic parameters dependent only on the photon frequencies. We determine the number of independent atomic parameters at fixed values of J _i and J _f and obtain their explicit expressions in terms of the reduced composite dipole matrix elements. The polarization dependence of the cross sections is expressed in terms of the degrees l and ξ of linear and circular photon polarizations. We analyze the phenomenon of dissipation-induced circular dichroism in three-photon processes, i.e., the difference Δ of the cross sections for opposite signs of the degree of circular polarization of all the photons. We study in detail the case of two identical photons and the phenomenon of elliptical dichroism, when Δ∼lξ holds and dichroism occurs only when the photons are elliptically polarized, with 0<|ξ|<1. Finally, we discuss the dissipation-induced effects of atom polarization in three-photon processes involving linearly polarized or unpolarized photons. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 111, 1984–2000 (June 1997)     

Dependence of the circular polarization of backscattered light in random media on anisotropy of scatterers

The scattering of linearly or circularly polarized light from a semi-infinite randomly inhomogeneous medium is considered. Using the Monte Carlo method, it is shown that, in the case of a wide front of incident and scattered optical radiation and irrespective of the degree of scattering anisotropy, the copolarized component of backscattered light dominates the cross-polarized component for the linear polarization and the cross-polarized component dominates the copolarized component for the circular polarization. If the beams of incident and scattered radiation are spatially separated and the size of scatterers exceeds the wavelength, the circular copolarized component dominates the cross-polarized one. A similar effect of the change in direction of the rotation of the plane of polarization in relation to the size of scatterers is revealed for pulsed radiation.     

考虑地表反射类型的气溶胶散射偏振特性

采用逐次阶散射法求解矢量辐射传输方程来研究气溶胶在不同地表反射模型下的散射偏振特性.首先,选取单一地表反射模型和耦合地表反射模型两种地表反射模型.然后,根据地表反射模型计算得到相应的地表反射率,进而采用逐次阶散射法对矢量辐射传输方程进行求解,得到散射光的Stokes矢量.最后,由Stokes矢量计算得出散射光的偏振度.仿真结果表明,两种地表反射模型下气溶胶单次散射的散射辐射强度和线偏振度均相等;耦合地表反射模型的总散射辐射强度和线偏振度总是大于单一地表反射模型;单一地表反射模型的气溶胶单次散射相对总散射的贡献总是大于耦合地表反射模型.研究结果对气溶胶光学特性的反演具有一定意义.