Light from reflection nebulae. IV - Scattering by silicate grains
UBV colors and polarization models for reflection nebulae based on Mie scattering functions for exponential size distribution of silicate particles
Hanner, M. S.↗
SEARCH · Search NASA
Results for “mie scattering”
Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
Dust Formation and Destruction in Core Collapse Supernovae Explosions [Dissertation]
Dust is a crucial component of the Interstellar Medium (ISM) and an important driver in many astrophysical processes. Dust formed from evolved stars increases the metallicity of the ISM, enriching it with heavier elements. Dust makes up the source material of collapsing clouds in the ISM leading to stellar and galactic formation. The stabilization of these systems are aided by dust through absorption and scattering of excess energy. As stellar systems evolve and undergo supernova and mass loss events, enriched dust is produced, further enhancing the metallicity of the ISM. However, despite the importance of dust, the processes that produce dust are not well understood. Core-Collapse Supernovae are one source of dust. Dying massive stars explode, sending their constituent material into the Interstellar Medium, which as the ejecta expands and cools, material condenses and nucleates forming dust grains. I investigate the formation, survivability, and properties of dust. In Chapter 2, dust grain nucleation in CCSNe is discussed. A revised formulation of Kinetic Nucleation Theory (KNT) is used to track the nucleation and growth of dust grains in the ejecta. The affects of the progenitor system on the amount and type of dust is explored, showing a strong dependence on explosion energy. I discuss the code and methods used to model dust nucleation and destruction in Chapter 3. The sputtering and erosion of dust grains in CCSNe shocks are explored in Chapter 4. The erosion and survival of this nucleated dust is modeled through thermal and non-thermal sputtering by the surrounding gas and shocks. The optical properties and scattering of light by surviving dust grains is modeled by Mie scattering in Chapter 5. A discussion of observations of dust in variable star systems and supernovae is outlined in Chapter 6.
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
Radiative transfer theory for scattering by layered media
Remote sensing of brightness temperatures of a scattering medium composed of spherical scatterers beneath a homogeneous surface layer is studied by using Mie scattering functions. We illustrate the effects of a surface layer by plotting the brightness temperatures as functions of frequency and viewing angle for different layer thicknesses, dielectric constants, and fractional scattering volumes. It is found that the brightness temperature increases when the loss tangent of the surface layer is increased and when the fractional volume occupied by the scatterers is decreased. In the absence of a surface layer the brightness temperature is usually decreasing as a function of frequency. The presence of a homogeneous layer may cause the brightness temperature to increase with frequency. At all viewing angles the vertical polarization is brighter than the horizontal polarization.
Tsang, L.↗
Phase and Morphology of Water-ice Grains Formed in a Cryogenic Laboratory Plasma
Abstract Grains of ice are formed spontaneously when water vapor is injected into a weakly ionized laboratory plasma in which the background gas has been cooled to cryogenic temperatures comparable to those of deep space. These ice grains are levitated indefinitely within the plasma so that their time evolution can be observed under free-floating conditions. Using microscope imaging, ice grains are shown to have a spindle-like fractal structure and grow over time. Both crystalline and amorphous phases of ice are observed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. A mix of crystalline and amorphous grains coexists under certain thermal conditions, and a linear mixing model is used on the ice absorption band surrounding 3.2 μ m to examine the ice phase composition and its temporal stability. The extinction spectrum is also affected by inelastic scattering as grains grow, and characteristic grain radii are obtained from Mie scattering theory and compared to size measurements from direct imaging. Observations are used to compare possible ice nucleation mechanisms, and it is concluded that nucleation is likely catalyzed by ions, as ice does not nucleate in the absence of plasma and impurities are not detected. Ice grain properties and infrared extinction spectra show similarity to observations of some astrophysical ices observed in protoplanetary disks, implying that the fractal morphology of the ice and observed processes of homogeneous ice nucleation could occur as well in such astrophysical environments with weakly ionized conditions.
Astronomy & Astrophysics↗
Remote sensing of Earth terrain
Research findings are summarized for projects dealing with the following: application of theoretical models to active and passive remote sensing of saline ice; radiative transfer theory for polarimetric remote sensing of pine forest; scattering of electromagnetic waves from a dense medium consisting of correlated Mie scatterers with size distribution and applications to dry snow; variance of phase fluctuations of waves propagating through a random medium; theoretical modeling for passive microwave remote sensing of earth terrain; polarimetric signatures of a canopy of dielectric cylinders based on first and second order vector radiative transfer theory; branching model for vegetation; polarimetric passive remote sensing of periodic surfaces; composite volume and surface scattering model; and radar image classification.
Kong, J. A.↗
Remote sensing of Earth terrain
Progress report on remote sensing of Earth terrain covering the period from Jan. to June 1993 is presented. Areas of research include: radiative transfer model for active and passive remote sensing of vegetation canopy; polarimetric thermal emission from rough ocean surfaces; polarimetric passive remote sensing of ocean wind vectors; polarimetric thermal emission from periodic water surfaces; layer model with tandom spheriodal scatterers for remote sensing of vegetation canopy; application of theoretical models to active and passive remote sensing of saline ice; radiative transfer theory for polarimetric remote sensing of pine forest; scattering of electromagnetic waves from a dense medium consisting of correlated mie scatterers with size distributions and applications to dry snow; variance of phase fluctuations of waves propagating through a random medium; polarimetric signatures of a canopy of dielectric cylinders based on first and second order vector radiative transfer theory; branching model for vegetation; polarimetric passive remote sensing of periodic surfaces; composite volume and surface scattering model; and radar image classification.
Kong, J. A.↗
CLASS Observation of Polarized Cloud Emission at Millimeter Wavelengths
The dynamic atmosphere imposes challenges to ground-based cosmic microwave background observation, especially for measurements on large angular scales. The hydrometeors in the atmosphere, mostly in the form of clouds, scatter the ambient thermal radiation and are known to be the main linearly polarized source in the atmosphere. This scattering-induced polarization is significantly enhanced for ice clouds due to the alignment of ice crystals under gravity, which are also the most common clouds seen at the millimeter-astronomy sites at high altitudes. This work presents a multifrequency study of cloud polarization observed by the Cosmology Large Angular Scale Surveyor experiment on Cerro Toco in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, from 2016–2022, at the frequency bands centered around 40, 90, 150, and 220 GHz. Using a machine-learning-assisted cloud classifier, we made connections between the transient polarized emission found in all four frequencies with the clouds imaged by monitoring cameras at the observing site. The polarization angles of the cloud events are found to be mostly 90° from the local meridian, which is consistent with the presence of horizontally aligned ice crystals. The90 and 150 GHz polarization data are consistent with a power law with a spectral index of 3.90±0.06, while an excess/deficit of polarization amplitude is found at 40/220 GHz compared with a Rayleigh scattering spectrum. These results are consistent with Rayleigh-scattering-dominated cloud polarization, with possible effects from supercooled water absorption and/or Mie scattering from a population of large cloud particles that contribute to the220 GHz polarization.
Earth's clouds↗
Analytical study of the effects of clouds on the light produced by lightning
Researchers consider the scattering of visible and infrared light due to lightning by cubic, cylindrical and spherical clouds. The researchers extend to cloud physics the work by Twersky for single and multiple scattering of electromagnetic waves. They solve the interior problem separately to obtain the bulk parameters for the scatterer equivalent to the ensemble of spherical droplets. With the interior solution or the equivalent medium approach, the multiple scattering problem is reduced to that of a single scatterer in isolation. Hence, the computing methods of Wiscombe or Bohren specialized to Mie scattering with the possibility for absorption were used to generate numerical results in short computer time.
Phanord, Dieudonne D.↗
Calibration of the forward-scattering spectrometer probe - Modeling scattering from a multimode laser beam
Scattering calculations using a detailed model of the multimode laser beam in the forward-scattering spectrometer probe (FSSP) were carried out using a recently developed extension to Mie scattering theory. From this model, new calibration curves for the FSSP were calculated. The difference between the old calibration curves and the new ones is small for droplet diameters less than 10 microns, but the difference increases to approximately 10 percent at diameters of 50 microns. When using glass beads to calibrate the FSSP, calibration errors can be minimized by using glass beads of many different diameters, over the entire range of the FSSP. If the FSSP is calibrated using one-diameter glass beads, then the new formalism is necessary to extrapolate the calibration over the entire range.
Hovenac, Edward A.↗
Comet Mineralogy as Inferred from Infrared Spectra of Comets
For most comets, infrared (IR) spectroscopy (remote sensing) is the method through which we diagnose the mineralogy and size distribution of dust in their comae. The shape and contrast of the IR spectral features depend on the particle size: optically active minerals (absorbing of visible and near-IR solar photons) and submicron solid grains or highly porous (> 90% vacuum) grains primarily contribute to the shapes of the observed resonances. Comet mineralogies typically are determined by fitting thermal emission models of ensembles of discrete mineral grains to observed IR spectral energy distributions. The absorptivities (Q-abs) and scattering efficiencies (Q-scat) of the discrete mineral grains are computed using Mie scattering, Maxwell-Garnet mixing, Discrete Dipole Approximation, and Multi-Layered Sphere codes. These techniques when applied to crystalline minerals, specifically olivine (Mg_x, Fe_1-x)2 Si04, x>0.9, require the use of ellipsoidal shaped particles with elongated axial ratios or hollow spheres to produce the shapes of the resonances observed both from comet comae and laboratory samples. The wavelength positions of the distinct resonances from submicron-radii crystalline silicates, as well as their thermal equilibrium temperatures, constrain the crystalline olivine to have a relatively high Mg-content (x>0.9, or Fo>90). Only resonances computed for submicron Mg-rich crystalline olivine and crystalline orthopyroxene match the observed IR spectral features. However, this has led to the interpretation that micron-radii and larger crystals are absent from comet comae. Furthermore, the mass fraction of silicate crystals is dependent upon whether just the submicron portion of the size distribution is being compared or the submicron crystals compare to the aggregates of porous amorphous silicates that are computationally tractable as porous spheres. We will discuss the Deep Impact results as examples of these challenges to interpreting mid-IR spectra of short-period comets.
Wooden, Diane H.↗
Comparison of Techniques for Non-Intrusive Fuel Drop Size Measurements in a Subscale Gas Turbine Combustor
In aviation gas turbine combustors, many factors, such as the degree and extent of fuel/air mixing and fuel vaporization achieved prior to combustion, influence the formation of undesirable pollutants. To assist in analyzing the extent of fuel/air mixing, flow visualization techniques have been used to interrogate the fuel distributions during subcomponent tests of lean-burning fuel injectors. Discrimination between liquid and vapor phases of the fuel was determined by comparing planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) images, elastically-scattered light images, and phase/Doppler interferometer measurements. Estimates of Sauter mean diameters are made by ratioing PLIF and Mie scattered intensities for various sprays, and factors affecting the accuracy of these estimates are discussed. Mie calculations of absorption coefficients indicate that the fluorescence intensities of individual droplets are proportional to their surface areas, instead of their volumes, due to the high absorbance of the liquid fuel for the selected excitation wavelengths.
Zaller, Michelle↗
Calibration of the Forward-scattering Spectrometer Probe: Modeling Scattering from a Multimode Laser Beam
Scattering calculations using a more detailed model of the multimode laser beam in the forward-scattering spectrometer probe (FSSP) were carried out by using a recently developed extension to Mie scattering theory. From this model, new calibration curves for the FSSP were calculated. The difference between the old calibration curves and the new ones is small for droplet diameters less than 10 micrometers, but the difference increases to approximately 10% at diameters of 50 micrometers. When using glass beads to calibrate the FSSP, calibration errors can be minimized, by using glass beads of many different diameters, over the entire range of the FSSP. If the FSSP is calibrated using one-diameter glass beads, then the new formalism is necessary to extrapolate the calibration over the entire range.
Hovenac, Edward A.↗
Modelling atmospheric scatterers using spacecraft observations
Voyager images of Triton indicate considerable spatial variability in the concentration of at least two different scattering components in the atmosphere. Data from high phase angle limb scans were fit to Mie scattering models to derive mean particle sizes, number densities, and vertical extent for both types of scattering material at ten different locations between 15 deg S and 70 deg S. These fits reveal a thin haze at latitudes equatorward of 25-30 deg S. The imaging data can be fit reasonably well by both conservatively scattering and absorbing hazes with particle sizes near 0.18 micron and optical depths of order 0.001-0.01. Rayleigh scattering haze fits the imaging data somewhat less well, and can be totally ruled out by combining the imaging and UVS measurements. At high southern latitudes, Triton displays clouds below an altitude of approximately 8 km, as well as the haze at higher altitudes. The clouds have particle sizes which may range from 0.7-2.0 microns, or may be near 0.25 micron. The atmospheric optical depth poleward of 30 deg S must be generally greater than 0.1, but need not be more than 0.3. Horizontal inhomogeneities are quite noticeable, especially at longitudes east of (i.e., higher than) 180 deg.
Rages, Kathy A.↗
Analysis of Martian atmospheric and surface optical properties between 4.4 and 5.1 microns
Spectra of several regions of Mars were taken by Blaney and McCord in Aug. of 1988 with the Cooled Grating Array Spectrometer (CGAS) at the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF). The resulting spectra show several distinct absorption features at wavelengths between 4.4 and 5.1 microns. Many of these features can be attributed to gases in the Martian atmosphere, but others are more difficult to identify. To analyze these spectra more completely, we used a line-by-line multiple scattering model that was developed for studies of Venus night-side emission. This model includes all atmospheric and surface radiative processes that are known to be important on Mars, including absorption, emission, and multiple scattering by CO2, H2O, CO, and airborne dust, and a spectrally-dependent surface albedo. A Mie-scattering algorithm was used to derive dust optical properties from the optical constants of palagonic and basalt. Results from our preliminary efforts to simulate the spectra taken near Tharsis and Solis Planum are shown.
Crisp, Dave↗
Coherent optical instrumentation for measurements of particle parameters
The application of cross-beam Laser Doppler Velocimeter (LDV) for sizing small particles was investigated from September 1973 to August 1974. Theoretical results were obtained by analyzing the scattering characteristics of small particles in a cross-beam LDV system. Theoretical calculations based on scalar diffraction theory and Mie scattering theory were performed. Experimental results were also obtained to compare with theoretical predictions. It is concluded that the forward scattering characteristics of small particles in a cross-beam LDV system can be used for particle sizing.
Chu, W. P.↗
Microwave brightness of polar firn as measured by Nimbus 5 and 6 ESMR
The microwave emission from a half-space medium characterized by coordinate dependent scattering and absorbing centers was calculated by numerically solving the radiative transfer equation by the method of invariant imbedding. A Mie scattering phase function and surface polarization was included in the calculation. Also included are the physical temperature profile and the temperature variation of the index of refraction for ice. Using published values of grain size and temperature profile data of polar firn, the brightness temperature was calculated for the 1.55 cm and 0.8 cm wavelengths. For selected regions in Greenland and Antarctica, the results are in reasonable agreement with the observed Nimbus-5 and Nimbus-6 ESMR data.
Chang, A. T. C.↗
Effects of subsurface volume scattering on the lunar microwave brightness temperature spectrum
The effects of volumetric scattering on the lunar microwave brightness temperature are examined for a broad range of feasible lunar rock population distributions. Mie-scattering phase functions and the radiative transfer method are utilized. Surveyor and Apollo data relevant to lunar rock size distributions are discussed, and parameters are chosen for nine scattering models which liberally cover the range of studied rock population distributions. Scattering model brightness temperature predictions are analyzed in terms of the lunar disk center emission averaged over a lunation for wavelengths of 3-30 cm. The effects of scattering on the amplitude of disk center brightness temperature variations and resultant deductions of regolith electrical loss are examined. Constraints on the global scale variability of subsurface scatterers imposed by microwave brightness temperature maps are considered.
Keihm, S. J.↗
Improved Gaussian Beam-Scattering Algorithm
The localized model of the beam-shape coefficients for Gaussian beam-scattering theory by a spherical particle provides a great simplification in the numerical implementation of the theory. We derive an alternative form for the localized coefficients that is more convenient for computer computations and that provides physical insight into the details of the scattering process. We construct a FORTRAN program for Gaussian beam scattering with the localized model and compare its computer run time on a personal computer with that of a traditional Mie scattering program and with three other published methods for computing Gaussian beam scattering. We show that the analytical form of the beam-shape coefficients makes evident the fact that the excitation rate of morphology-dependent resonances is greatly enhanced for far off-axis incidence of the Gaussian beam.
Lock, James A.↗