Photon channelling in foams

Experiments by Gittings, Bandyopadhyay and Durian (Europhys. Lett. 65, 414 (2004)) demonstrate that light possesses a higher probability to propagate in the liquid phase of a foam due to total reflection. The authors term this observation photon channelling which we investigate in this article theoretically. We first derive a central relation in the work of Gitting et al. without any free parameters. It links the photon's path-length fraction f in the liquid phase to the liquid fraction ɛ. We then construct two-dimensional Voronoi foams, replace the cell edges by channels to represent the liquid films and simulate photon paths according to the laws of ray optics using transmission and reflection coefficients from Fresnel's formulas. In an exact honeycomb foam, the photons show superdiffusive behavior. It becomes diffusive as soon as disorder is introduced into the foams. The dependence of the diffusion constant on channel width and refractive index is explained by a one-dimensional random-walk model. It contains a photon channelling state that is crucial for the understanding of the numerical results. At the end, we shortly comment on the observation that photon channelling only occurs in a finite range of ɛ.     

Three-dimensional vector radiative transfer in a semi-infinite, Rayleigh scattering medium exposed to a polarized laser beam: spatially varying reflection matrix

Three-dimensional vector radiative transfer in a semi-infinite, Rayleigh scattering medium exposed to a polarized, Gaussian laser beam directed perpendicular to the surface is studied. The focus of this investigation is the 4×4, spatially varying reflection matrix that can be used to determine the normally backscattered radiation when the polarization of the incident radiation is specified. An inverse integral transform is used to construct the spatially varying reflection matrix from the generalized reflection matrix found in a previous study. The elements of this matrix depend on location specified by optical radius and azimuthal angle. The azimuthal variation is found by performing part of the inverse transform analytically, while the radial variation is described by five functions that are calculated numerically via an inverse Hankel transform. Benchmark numerical results for these five functions are presented, and the effects of beam radius and particle concentration are discussed. Expressions that describe the behavior of the reflection functions at small and large optical radii are developed, and comparisons are made to the one-dimensional and scalar situations. The scalar approximation fails to predict the three-dimensional effects produced by the polarized beam, and even when the incident radiation is unpolarized, the error in the scalar reflection function can be as high as 20%.     

Three-dimensional vector radiative transfer in a semi-infinite, Rayleigh scattering medium exposed to spatially varying polarized radiation: generalized reflection matrix

Three-dimensional vector radiative transfer in a semi-infinite medium exposed to spatially varying, polarized radiation is studied. The problem is to determine the generalized reflection matrix for a multiple scattering medium characterized by a 4×4 scattering matrix. A double integral transform is used to convert the three-dimensional vector radiative transfer equation to a one-dimensional form, and a modified Ambarzumian's method is then applied to derive a nonlinear integral equation for the generalized reflection matrix. The spatially varying backscattered radiation for an arbitrarily polarized incident beam can be found from the generalized reflection matrix. For Rayleigh scattering and normal incidence and emergence, the generalized reflection matrix is shown to have five non-zero elements. Benchmark results for these five elements are presented and compared to asymptotic results. When the incident radiation is polarized, the vector approach used in this study correctly predicts three-dimensional behavior, while the scalar approach does not. When the incident radiation is unpolarized, both the vector and scalar approaches predict a two-dimensional distribution of the intensity, but the error in the scalar prediction can be as high as 20%.     

Infrared radiative transfer modelling in a 3D scattering cloudy atmosphere: Application to limb sounding measurements of cirrus

The Monte Carlo cloud scattering forward model (McClouds_FM) has been developed to simulate limb radiative transfer in the presence of cirrus clouds, for the purposes of simulating cloud contaminated measurements made by an infrared limb sounding instrument, e.g. the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS). A reverse method three-dimensional Monte Carlo transfer model is combined with a line-by-line model for radiative transfer through the non-cloudy atmosphere to explicitly account for the effects of multiple scattering by the clouds. The ice cloud microphysics are characterised by a size distribution of randomly oriented ice crystals, with the single scattering properties of the distribution determined by accurate calculations accounting for non-spherical habit.A comparison of McClouds_FM simulations and real MIPAS spectra of cirrus shows good agreement. Of particular interest are several noticeable spectral features (i.e. H₂O absorption lines) in the data that are replicated in the simulations: these can only be explained by upwelling tropospheric radiation scattered into the line-of-sight by the cloud ice particles.     

Discrete-ordinate radiative transfer in a stratified medium with first-order rotational Raman scattering

Rotational Raman scattering (RRS) by air molecules in the Earth's atmosphere is predominantly responsible for the Ring effect: Fraunhofer and absorption-feature filling-in observed in UV/visible backscatter spectra. Accurate determination of RRS effects requires detailed radiative transfer (RT) treatment. In this paper, we demonstrate that the discrete-ordinate RT equations may be solved analytically in a multi-layer multiple scattering atmosphere in the presence of RRS treated as a first-order perturbation. Based on this solution, we develop a generic pseudo-spherical RT model LIDORT-RRS for the determination of backscatter radiances with RRS included; the model will generate output at arbitrary viewing geometry and optical thickness. Model comparisons with measured RRS filling-in effects from OMI observations show very good agreement. We examine telluric RRS filling-in effects for satellite-view backscatter radiances in a spectral range covering the ozone Huggins absorption bands. The model is also used to investigate calcium H and K Fraunhofer filling-in through cloud layers in the atmosphere.     

Bunched laser cooling of a stored weak 7Li+ ion beam in a pure triplet state

A preparation scheme for a 7Li+ ion beam in a storage ring is presented which provides ions in the metastable triplet states with well controlled longitudinal phase space properties. For both state selective preparation and beam cooling, laser- and electron-cooler forces are applied. The spatial- and momentum distributions of the ions are directly detected by a time resolved measurement of the fluorescence light. At low beam intensities, the remaining heating rate of such a beam is completely determined by residual gas scattering. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.