The cross-polarization of light by large non-spherical particles

The paper is devoted to a theoretical investigation of the cross-polarization ratio of scattered light for randomly oriented particles of various shapes. The cases of spheroids, cylinders and fractal particles are considered in detail. The particles are assumed to be much larger than the wavelength of the incident light. Calculations are performed using the Monte Carlo ray-tracing code. Absorption of light by the particles is neglected. It was found that highly irregular fractal particles give the maximum ratio of the cross-polarization. Particles with a larger degree of symmetry (e.g. circular cylinders and spheroids) give smaller values. The highest values of the cross-polarization ratio lay in the backward hemisphere. They were smaller than 0.8 for all the cases considered. (author)