Vol. 10, issue 12, article # 12

Abstract:

In this paper we analyze the propagation of polarized and unpolarized light through an optically anisotropic medium. In this study we have investigated the polarization state and energy losses of the beam passed through such a medium as a function of the incident beam polarization, the direction of the beam incidence with respect to the axes describing the medium anisotropy as well as of the optical depth of the medium along the beam. To achieve this task we have carried out model calculations of the extinction matrix elements for anisotropic media of two types . The first type assumes the medium to be a layer of cylinder shaped crystals whose long axes are randomly oriented in a horizontal plane, while in the medium of the second type the long axes of cylinders are additionally grouped about a preferred direction in the horizontal plane. The model calculations made have shown that at optical depths that are realistic for actual cirrus clouds the changes in the polarization state of the beam passed through such a cloud may surely be neglected. At the same time the calculations have revealed a strong dependence of the off-diagonal elements of the extinction matrix on the incidence angle of the beam for both types of anisotropic media and on the azimuth orientation of the plane of incidence for the medium of the second type.