Publication Abstracts

Alexandrov and Lacis 2000

Alexandrov, M.D., and A.A. Lacis, 2000: A new three-parameter cloud/aerosol particle size distribution based on the generalized inverse Gaussian density function. Appl. Math. Comput., 116, 153-165, doi:10.1016/S0096-3003(99)00201-5.

We describe a three-parameter cloud/aerosol particle size distribution based on the generalized inverse Gaussian density function that provides a simple and convenient recipe for characterizing aerosol radiative propereties. The feature that makes this distribution attractive is that all of its moments can be calculated analytically providing simple formulas for the effective radius and variance and relating these to other important quantities such as the particle number and mass densities. Another advantage of this distribution is the smooth exponential cut-off not only for large particle sizes but also in small particles regime which prevents the singularity that occurs at zero size for large effective variances for distributions like the popular gamma distribution. Unlike most size distributions in current use the proposed functional form has a third-parameter (order) which provides greater flexibility in representing different distributional shapes. Analytical expressions for the moments of the generalized inverse Gaussian distribution in the generic case contain ratios of modified Bessel functions, however for half-integer orders these expressions are simple ratios of polynomials. As a practical example we compare extinction factors and asymmetry parameters computed for several different orders of the proposed distribution function.

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BibTeX Citation

@article{al07000g,
  author={Alexandrov, M. D. and Lacis, A. A.},
  title={A new three-parameter cloud/aerosol particle size distribution based on the generalized inverse Gaussian density function},
  year={2000},
  journal={Applied Mathematics and Computation},
  volume={116},
  pages={153--165},
  doi={10.1016/S0096-3003(99)00201-5},
}

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RIS Citation

TY  - JOUR
ID  - al07000g
AU  - Alexandrov, M. D.
AU  - Lacis, A. A.
PY  - 2000
TI  - A new three-parameter cloud/aerosol particle size distribution based on the generalized inverse Gaussian density function
JA  - Appl. Math. Comput.
JO  - Applied Mathematics and Computation
VL  - 116
SP  - 153
EP  - 165
DO  - 10.1016/S0096-3003(99)00201-5
ER  -

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