More on patterns in Mie scattering

The powerlaw patterns in Mie scattering (the normalized light intensity I(theta)/I(0) vs. the dimensionless qR where q = 4pilambda(-1) sin(0)/(2) is the magnitude of the wave vector transfer at the scattering angle theta for wavelength lambda, and R is the radius of the nonabsorbing sphere with a relative refractive index m > 1) are analyzed using the geometrical optics approximation for particles of a large size parameter. The (qR)(-4) powerlaw regime is shown to be present only in Mie scattering of soft particles. The (qR)(-2) powerlaw regime occurs at the scattering angles of the p = 1 geometrical ray (refracted without internal reflections) from the portion of the incident beam with an incidence angle around pi/4 upon the particle. The (qR)(-2) powerlaw regimes from particles sharing one common relative refractive index but differing in size parameters are collinear. Simple analytical expressions are derived to describe these powerlaw regimes of Mie scattering. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.