Scattering by relatively small oblate spheroidal drops of water in the rainbow region: T-matrix results and geometric interpretation

Late in 1999 Michael Mishchenko carried out T-matrix calculations of light scattered by oblate spheroidal drops of water at Marston's request. The purpose of the investigation was to determine if the caustic features, known by that time to be visible in the far-field scattering near the primary rainbow region for horizontally illuminated relatively large drops, would also be present in T-matrix calculations of the scattering by small drops. The axis of rotational symmetry of the drop was taken to be vertical, and the illumination was taken to be horizontal. Scattering into the relevant angular region was evaluated for drop aspect ratios D/H = 1, 1.23, 1.311, and 1.37 where D denotes the equatorial diameter and H the vertical diameter. The results are limited to polarized monochromatic illumination with k a = 140 where a = D/2 and k = 2 pi/ lambda with lambda being the wavelength of the illumination. As expected from geometrical analysis, a horizontal V shaped caustic is visible for D/H = 1.311. The T-matrix results, gray-tone intensity displays provided by Mishchenko, remain instructive.

Automated summary

This study investigates the scattering of small drops using T-matrix calculations and identifies the presence of a horizontal V-shaped caustic under certain conditions.