Light Scattering and Extinction in M 82

Published low-resolution measurements of colour and polarisation over the face of M82 are discussed to separate the contribution of starlight and scattered light. We show that in all places of the middle and outer halo the scattered light comes predominantly from a central source of very high ultraviolett excess, the contribution of the disc is negligble there. The projected distributions of H_α-light and scattered continuum are of considerable similarity. Major extinction occurs in the southern half of the main body and of the inner halo; the northern half of the bright body, and the northern halo, are free of extinction, excluding some regions near the minor axis. The light of the central source is reddened only before it is scattered in the halo. The variation of the true degree of polarisation (after correction for starlight) is interpreted in terms of the variation of the mean scattering angle. From this, conclusions can be drawn concerning the location of the dust and the geometry of the illumination. The high brightness of the scattered light near the minor axis is caused axis is caused by a bright illuminating beam there, strengthened in some places by comparatively low scattering angles (45°) and a higher (projected) density of the scattering material. The stellar populations seen in M82 are different in the northern and in the southern halfs of the galaxy. The main body and the region of the northern “halo” consist of an old population of normal metal content (pop. I); the colours of the southern parts – which are partly considerably influenced by extinction – can be due to either metal poor F-stars (pop. II) or to young B-stars. To solve the latter ambiguity and at the same time the question in what direction the plane of the galaxy is tilted, good spectra of the faint southern parts of M82 outside the minor axis are needed.     

强磁化等离子体中的多次康普顿散射

为了提供解开γ爆光谱之谜所需的信息,我们求解了γ光子在强磁化、纯散射等离子体中的输运问题。主要讨论了多次散射对湮灭线光子和γ射线连续谱的影响。计算中假定散射层由温度为10~7—10~8K的非简并等离子体组成,且带有B=4.414×10~(12)G的强磁场。使用了强磁场中的精确Compton散射截面。计算结果所显示的强磁场效应将有助于我们对γ爆光谱的更深入的认识。     

Light Scattering from Regolith: Intensity Versus Particle Size Behavior

Nature of the photometric phase curves of the regolith like surfaces (like those of the asteroids) are believed to be dependent on the single particle characteristics like particle size, shape, composition etc. and physical characteristics of the surface like porosity and roughness. Most of the phase curves have a rapid surge of intensity at small phase angles (typically below 5^°) known as opposition effect, followed by a linear less decreasing trend at larger phase angles. Average intensity of the linear region has been found to be mostly dependent on the average particle size and its composition, in many laboratory observations. Generally, it is difficult to explain the nature of light scattering by an ensemble of irregular shaped inhomogeneous particles with a theoretical model, just by studying the phase curves. In the present work, we have investigated whether the theoretically expected variation of the scattered light intensity (at a given phase angle) with the average particle size of the grains constituting regoliths, for a given material of the particle is in agreement with the experimental results or not? If yes, this can be a simpler but efficient way to study light scattering by regolith like surfaces. For theoretical analysis, Hapke formula has been used with Mie theory for single particle phase function, where we have neglected the influence of porosity and roughness presently. The data are also fitted with an empirical formula. It has been found that this empirical formula may also be used to estimate the unknown average particle size of a real regolith with known composition.     

Scattering of Light by Composite Particles in a Planetary Surface

It has been proposed that composite particles containing internal scatterers may provide the explanation for the fact that most photometric studies of planetary surfaces based on Hapke's model of bidirectional reflectance have found the planetary particles to exhibit moderately backscattering phase functions. However, an implicit assumption made in this explanation is that the scattering by composite particles containing multiple internal inclusions in a planetary surface can still be adequately computed using standard radiative transfer theory assuming the composite particles to be the fundamental individual scatterers even though such particles are necessarily in close proximity to each other. In this paper, this assumption is explored by examining the effects of close packing on the light scattering by spherical particles containing isotropic internal scatterers using a Monte Carlo routine. As expected, classical radiative transfer (assuming a random distribution of scattering particles) coupled with the assumption that the composite particle is the fundamental scatterer provides a good approximation in the high porosity limit. However, even for porosities as high as 90% the effects of close packing are clearly seen with the radiative transfer calculation underestimating the scattering by ∼10% at high incidence, emission, and phase angles. As the porosity is lowered further, the discrepancy becomes more severe and can reach 50% or more. In contrast, assuming the individual scatterer properties in the radiative transfer calculation leads to a substantial overestimate of the scattering even for porosities as low as 27.5%. This suggests that parameters derived using the classical radiative transfer theory will yield results intermediate between those of the composite as a whole and those of the internal scatterers. Thus, one should exercise caution in interpreting the results of models based on classical radiative transfer theory in terms of the physical properties of the surface particles and, where possible, the bidirectional reflectance of densely packed composite particles should be computed using more accurate methods such as the stochastic radiative transfer theory.     

Compton Scattering in Plane Media: Polarization of Radiation and Azimuth Independence. I. Theory

Astrophysics - Compton scattering of polarized radiation by a nondegenerate and unpolarized electron gas is examined. Two polarization bases are introduced for pulses of photons: external,...     

Light Scattering by Aggregate Particles Comparable in Size to Wavelength: Application to Cometary Dust

Many naturally occurring particles (including, most likely, cometary dust) have an aggregate structure. We study the scattering properties of polydisperse independent aggregate particles (clusters) comparable in size to visible wavelengths. The sizes of the monomers constituting a cluster play a significant role in forming the angular dependences of intensity and linear polarization of the scattered light. Irregularly structured aggregates composed of a moderate number of spheres (<50) with size parameters 1.3–1.65 exhibit properties typical of cometary dust particles: a slight increase in backscattering intensity, a negative polarization at small phase angles, an inversion phase angle close to the observed one, an increase in brightness, and a linear polarization with increasing wavelength. In this case, the imaginary part of the refractive index for particles can increase with decreasing wavelength in the visible spectral range, which is typical of silicates with an admixture of iron or organic material. The spectral dependence of extinction efficiency for aggregates is less steep than that for equivalent spherical particles, and its maximum is shifted to larger size parameters. Therefore, when analyzing extinction measurements, the scatterer shape must be taken into account to avoid underestimation of the scattering-particle sizes.     

Characteristics of Light Scattering at Small Phase Angles by Surfaces Consisting of Spherical Particles

We present the results of measurements of the phase dependences of brightness and of the polarization and depolarization characteristics for surfaces consisting of spherical glass particles in the phase-angle range from 0.1° to 5.0°. The measurements are performed using the laboratory photometer/polarimeter of Kharkov Astronomical Observatory and the photometer of Jet Propulsion Laboratory. An optically thick layer of transparent-glass spheres with mean size of about 57 m and refractive index of 1.44 exhibits a strong opposition effect due to single scattering. The contribution of interparticle scattering is nearly independent of the phase angle. At an angle of 0.4°, the spheres exhibit a glory ring that manifests itself in the phase behavior of all characteristics investigated. Small details are seen on the curves when a monochromatic radiation source is used for measurements. Their occurrence is confirmed by calculations based on the Mie theory. The unusual behavior of the phase dependences of reflectivity, degree of polarization, and color index for layers composed of spherical particles can be used to search for sites of possible deposits of spherical glass (or ice) particles in regoliths of atmosphereless celestial bodies.     

A Negative Branch of Polarization for Comets and Atmosphereless Celestial Bodies and the Light Scattering by Aggregate Particles

Optical observations of comets and atmosphereless celestial bodies show that a change of sign of the linear polarization of scattered light from negative to positive at phase angles less than 20° is typical of the cometary coma, as well as of the regolith of Mercury, the Moon, planetary satellites, and asteroids. To explain a negative branch of polarization, this research suggests a unified approach to the treatment of cometary-dust particles and regolith grains as aggregate forms. A composite structure of aggregate particles resulting in the interaction of composing structural elements (monomers) in the light-scattering process is responsible for the negative polarization at small phase angles, if the monomer sizes are comparable to the wavelength. The characteristics of single scattering of light calculated for aggregates of this kind turned out to be close to the properties observed for cometary dust. Unlike the cometary coma, the regolith is an optically semi-infinite medium, where the interaction between particles is significant. To find the reflectance characteristics of regolith, the radiative-transfer equation should be solved for a regolith layer. In this case, the interaction between scatterers can be modeled to a certain extent by representing the regolith grains as aggregate structures consisting of several or many elements. Although real regolith grains are much larger than the particles considered here, laboratory measurements have shown that it is precisely the surface irregularities comparable to the wavelength that cause a negative branch of polarization. The main observed features of the phase and spectral dependence of the linear polarization of light scattered from comets and atmosphereless celestial bodies, which are due to the difference of the elementary scatterers in composition, size, and structure, can be successfully explained using the aggregate model of particles.     

Scattering of an Electromagnetic Wave on a Dielectric Layer Bounded on Two Sides by Two Different Homogeneous, Semi-Infinite Media

The problem of the passage of a plane electromagnetic wave through an arbitrary, inhomogeneous dielectric layer bounded on two sides by two different homogeneous, semi-infinite media is considered. Algebraic relations are obtained between the amplitudes of transmission and reflection (the scattering amplitudes) for the problem under consideration and the wave scattering amplitudes when the layer is bounded on both sides by a vacuum. It is shown that for s and p polarized fields the scattering problem (a boundary-value problem) can be formulated as a Cauchy problem directly for the s and p wave equations. It is also shown that the problem of finding the field inside the layer also reduces to a Cauchy problem in the general case.     

Multi-Conjugate Adaptive Optics with laser guide stars: performance in the infrared and visible

The assumption of the Gaussianity of primordial perturbations plays an important role in modern cosmology. The most direct test of this hypothesis consists of testing the Gaussianity of cosmic microwave background (CMB) maps. Counting the pixels with the temperatures in given ranges and thus estimating the one-point probability function of the field is the simplest of all the tests. Other usually more complex tests of Gaussianity generally use a great deal of the information already contained in the probability function. However, the most interesting outcome of such a test would be the signal of non-Gaussianity independent of the probability function. It is shown that the independent information has purely morphological character i.e. it depends on the geometry and topology of the level contours only. As an example we discuss in detail the quadratic model   v = u + α ( u ²-1)  ( u is a Gaussian field with   u¯ =0  and  〈 u ²〉=1  , α is a parameter) that may arise in slow-roll or two-field inflation models. We show that in the limit of small amplitude α the full information about the non-Gaussianity is contained in the probability function. If other tests are performed on this model they simply recycle the same information. A simple procedure allowing us to assess the sensitivity of any statistics to the morphological information is suggested. We provide an analytic estimate of the statistical limit for detecting the quadratic non-Gaussianity α _c as a function of the map size in the ideal situation when the scale of the field is resolved. This estimate is in a good agreement with the results of the Monte Carlo simulations of 256² and 1024² maps. The effect of resolution on the detection quadratic non-Gaussianity is also briefly discussed.     

Albedo-Shifting Method: Scattering in a Line with Complete Frequency Redistribution

The albedo-shifting method is used to solve the problem of radiative transfer at line frequencies. Radiative transfer with complete frequency redistribution in a plane-parallel, semi-infinite atmosphere is considered. It is shown that the method works well in this case and enables one to considerably improve the convergence in an iterative solution of the equation for the source function.     

人造导引星自适应光学的倾斜决定问题

本文从Zernike多项式出发 ,推导了激光导引星自适应光学倾斜校正的非等晕性方差 ,以其方差 1rad2 为判据 ,导出了倾斜等晕角的表达式 ,得出了与Parenti和Sasiela推导的相同的结果     

Scattering of waves in a magnetoactive plasma

A general theory of scattering of waves in a magnetoactive plasma by particles of arbitrary energy is presented. The cross-section for the scattering of magnetoionic waves by thermal particles is derived and discussed. Conditions under which the effect of the spiralling motion of the scattering electron can be neglected in treating inverse Compton radiation are found.     

Scattering of light in a spherical nebula

Leningrad State University. Translated fromAstrofizika, Vol. 35, No. 1, pp. 97–109, July–August, 1991.     

Use of the Geometric Elements in Numerical Simulations

We derive the transformations to convert the state vector in cartesian coordinates into geometric orbital elements (and conversely the geometric elements into the state vector) for a test particle moving around an oblate planet. These transformations arise from the epicyclic theory and are accurate to second order in eccentricity and inclination. This paper is written to be directly used for computational purposes, such as the numerical study of ring dynamics.     

Mariner 9 ultraviolet spectrometer experiment: Scattering properties of Hellas

A least-squares analysis of 709 Mariner 9 uv spectra obtained over Hellas from Revolution 140 to 214 (January 22, 1972, to February 28, 1972) showed the extinction optical depth of the atmosphere above Hellas to be 0.5 ± 0.2. This is evidence of lingering dust in the Hellas basin. An atmospheric model, combining dust and Rayleigh scattering, was used to make an apparent pressure map of Hellas. Anomalously high pressures are interpreted as clouds developing over the southern part of Hellas near the time of autumnal equinox. The blue ratio (reflectance at 2680 Å divided by reflectance at 3050 Å) showed a 20% increase from Revolution 40 to Revolution 74 (December 4, 1971, to December 20, 1971), attributed to the decay of the dust storm. Thereafter, the blue ratio remained essentially constant through Revolution 214, which implies that the rate of clearing in Hellas was much slower than that planetwide.     

Quantized Redshifts of Galaxies: Stimulated Raman Scattering in Cold Intergalactic Rydberg Matter

That the redshifts for galaxies in the local supercluster are quantizedwas recently confirmedby Guthrie and Napier(A&Amp;Amp;A310 (1996) 353). These redshifts are here proposed to be due to stimulatedStokes Raman processes in intergalactic matter in the form of Rydberg Matter (RM). Rydberg Matteris an electronically excited material, as demonstrated by its use as laser medium in a thermally excitedultra-broadband tunable IR laser (Chem. Phys. Lett. 376 (2003) 812). Its existence in interstellar andintergalactic space is demonstrated by several observational results, notably the unidentified IR bands,that agree well with the emission from Rydberg Matter. A stimulated Raman process will allow theH I 21 cm radiation to proceed without deflection, in agreement with observation. Such redshiftswill be additive during the passage through space. The process in Rydberg Matter here proposed togive rise to the Stokes Raman process is excitation of electronic translational modes in the planarclusters forming the matter. The specific cluster sizes found in laboratory experiments give rise toa few differently sized redshift quanta, which is in good agreement with the observed quanta. Anexcitation level (principal quantum number) of Rydberg Matter in intergalactic space between 175and 200 gives the correct size of the redshift quanta.     

Cosmological Post-Newtonian Approximation in Flat Space-Time Theory of Gravitation

The 1-post-Newtonian approximation of perfect fluid in cosmological models of the theory of gravitation in flat space-time is studied. The equations of motion are given in evolution form. At high redshifts the terms of post-Newtonian approximation are important in studying the development of inhomogeneities on scales smaller than galaxies but at present time these terms only take effect on very large scales. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.