Mie Scattering With and Without Diffraction

MATLAB Functions for studying and handling the angular distribution of Lorenz-Mie scattering are
introduced and illustrated by situations of low-loss dielectric spheres with size parameters ranging
from the Rayleigh to the geometrical-optics regime. Special attention has been paid to the forward
peak of the phase function arising from diffraction for large size parameters. This peak causes prob-
lems in applications with limited angular resolution. Here the standard computations have been com-
plemented by those without the diffracted signal component. In this way the peak can be avoided
without affecting the scattering in other directions. Additional parameters introduced are the beam
efficiency, the diffraction efficiency, and the decomposition of the phase functions into Legendre
Polynomials. The new option is of benefit in radiative transfer to better take into account effects of
scattering at limited angular resolution. The method can be generalised to other types of particles.