Experimental determination of scattering matrices of dust
particles at visible wavelengths: IAA light-scattering apparatus
O. Muñoz*, F. Moreno and D. Guirado
- Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía CSIC, Glorieta de la Astronomía s/n, 18080 Granada, Spain.
We present a new laboratory apparatus for measuring the complete scattering matrix as a function of the scattering angle of aerosol particles. The measurements can be performed at the wavelengths of 483, 488, 520, 568, or 647 nm in the scattering angle range from 3° to 177°. The accuracy of the system has been tested by comparison of the measured scattering matrices for water droplets with results of Lorenz-Mie calculations for homogeneous spheri- cal water droplets. The apparatus is devoted to experimentally studying the angle-dependent scattering matrices of dust samples of astrophysical interest. Moreover, there is a great interest in measuring aerosol samples that can affect the radiative balance of the Earth's atmosphere such as desert dust, volcanic ashes, and carbon soot particles.
- * Corresponding author