Publication Abstracts

Mishchenko and Travis 2004

Mishchenko, M.I., and L.D. Travis, 2004: Maxwell's equations, electromagnetic waves, and Stokes parameters. In Photopolarimetry in Remote Sensing. G. Videen, Y. Yatskiv, and M. Mishchenko, Eds., Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 1-44.

The theoretical basis for describing elastic scattering of light by particles and surfaces is formed by classical electromagnetics. In order to make this volume sufficiently self-contained, this introductory chapter provides a summary of those concepts and equations of electromagnetic theory that will be used extensively in later chapters and introduces the necessary notation.

We start by formulating the macroscopic Maxwell equations and constitutive relations and discussing the fundamental time-harmonic planewave solution that underlies the basic optical idea of a monochromatic parallel beam of light. This is followed by the introduction of the Stokes parameters and a discussion of their ellipsometric content. Then we consider the concept of a quasi-monochromatic beam of light and its implications and briefly discuss how the Stokes parameters of monochromatic and quasimonochromatic light can be measured in practice. In the final two sections, we discuss another fundamental solution of Maxwell's equations in the form of a time-harmonic outgoing spherical wave and introduce the concept of the coherency dyad, which plays a vital role in the theory of multiple light scattering by random particle ensembles.

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BibTeX Citation

@inbook{mi06900t,
  author={Mishchenko, M. I. and Travis, L. D.},
  editor={Videen, G. and Yatskiv, Y. and Mishchenko, M.},
  title={Maxwell's equations, electromagnetic waves, and Stokes parameters},
  booktitle={Photopolarimetry in Remote Sensing},
  year={2004},
  pages={1--44},
  publisher={Kluwer Academic Publishers},
  address={Dordrecht, Netherlands},
}

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RIS Citation

TY  - CHAP
ID  - mi06900t
AU  - Mishchenko, M. I.
AU  - Travis, L. D.
ED  - Videen, G.
ED  - Yatskiv, Y.
ED  - Mishchenko, M.
PY  - 2004
TI  - Maxwell's equations, electromagnetic waves, and Stokes parameters
BT  - Photopolarimetry in Remote Sensing
SP  - 1
EP  - 44
PB  - Kluwer Academic Publishers
CY  - Dordrecht, Netherlands
ER  -

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