Experimental observation of total-internal-reflection rainbows

A new class of rainbows is created when a droplet is illuminated from the inside by a point light source. The position of the rainbow depends on both the index of refraction of the droplet and the position of the light source, and the rainbow vanishes when the point source is too close to the center of the droplet. Here we experimentally measure the position of the transmission and one-internal-reflection total-internal-reflection rainbows, and the standard (primary) rainbow, as a function of light-source position.     

Light scattering by a coated infinite cylinder in an absorbing medium

The scattering formulation for a coated infinite cylinder in an absorbing medium is presented in this paper. The cylinder is subjected to an arbitrarily polarized plane wave propagating in a general direction at the cylinder. The refractive index and magnetic permeability of the host medium, as well as those for the core and coating of the cylinder, can be real or complex. The scattering and extinction efficiencies and the scattering amplitudes are derived for both the near field and the far field. As the medium is absorbing, the "true" extinction and scattering efficiencies are derived based on the radiative energy outflow at the surface of the cylinder. The radiative efficiencies in the far field are denoted as "apparent" properties because they include absorption by the intervening medium. The influence of the refractive index and permeability of the host medium on the scattering properties of a coated cylinder is illustrated by numerical examples.     

Rainbow scattering by a coated sphere

We examine the behavior of the first-order rainbow for a coated sphere by using both ray theory and Aden-Kerker wave theory as the radius of the core a(12) and the thickness of the coating δ are varied. As the ratio δ/a(12) increases from 10(-4) to 0.33, we find three classes of rainbow phenomena that cannot occur for a homogeneous-sphere rainbow. For δ/a(12) ? 10(-3), the rainbow intensity is an oscillatory function of the coating thickness, for δ/a(12) ≈ 10(-2), the first-order rainbow breaks into a pair of twin rainbows, and for δ/a(12) ≈ 0.33, various rainbow-extinction transitions occur. Each of these effects is analyzed, and their physical interpretations are given. A Debye series decomposition of coated-sphere partial-wave scattering amplitudes is also performed and aids in the analysis.     

Amplification of high-order rainbows of a cylinder with an elliptical cross section

The intensity of high-order rainbows for normally incident light and certain rotation angles of a cylinder with an elliptical cross section is greatly amplified with respect to the intensity for a circular cross-sectional cylinder. The amplification is due to a number of the internal reflections occurring past the critical angle for total internal reflection, and the effect is especially strong for odd-order rainbows, beginning with the third order. Experimentally, the fourth- and the fifth-order rainbows of a nearly elliptical cross-sectional glass rod were observed and analyzed.     

Supernumerary spacing of rainbows produced by an elliptical-cross-section cylinder. I. Theory

A sequence of rainbows is produced in light scattering by a particle of high symmetry in the short-wavelength limit, and a supernumerary interference pattern occurs to one side of each rainbow. Using both a ray-tracing procedure and the Debye-series decomposition of first-order perturbation wave theory, I examine the spacing of the supernumerary maxima and minima as a function of the cylinder rotation angle when an elliptical-cross-section cylinder is normally illuminated by a plane wave. I find that the supernumerary spacing depends sensitively on the cylinder-cross-section shape, and the spacing varies sinusoidally as a function of the cylinder rotation angle for small cylinder ellipticity. I also find that relatively large uncertainties in the supernumerary spacing affect the rainbow angle only minimally.     

Model of scattering by a perturbed thin cylinder

A model of wave scattering by a perturbed thin cylinder is constructed. The model is based on the theory of self-adjoint operator extensions. A method is found for choosing a model operator ensuring that the model solution is identical to the leading term of the asymptotic expansion, in terms of the small diameter of the cylinder, of the real scattering problem. Pis’ma Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 25, 42–45 (March 26, 1999)     

Application of the exact solution for scattering by an infinite cylinder to the estimation of scattering by a finite cylinder

A new algorithm for cylindrical Bessel functions that is similar to the one for spherical Bessel functions allows us to compute scattering functions for infinitely long cylinders covering sizes ka = 2πa/λ up to 8000 through the use of only an eight-digit single-precision machine computation. The scattering function and complex extinction coefficient of a finite cylinder that is seen near perpendicular incidence are derived from those of an infinitely long cylinder by the use of Huygens's principle. The result, which contains no arbitrary normalization factor, agrees quite well with analog microwave measurements of both extinction and scattering for such cylinders, even for an aspect ratio p = l/(2a) as low as 2. Rainbows produced by cylinders are similar to those for spherical drops but are brighter and have a lower contrast.     

Electromagnetic scattering by an infinite cylinder of material or metamaterial coating eccentrically a dielectric cylinder

The electromagnetic scattering by an infinite cylinder of dielectric material or metamaterial, coating eccentrically another infinite dielectric cylinder, is treated in this work. The problem is solved using classical separation of variables techniques. No use is made of the translational addition theorem. For small eccentricities h = d/a(? 1), where d is the distance between the axes of the cylinders and a the radius of the outer cylinder, we use instead the cosine and the sine laws to satisfy the boundary conditions at the surface of the outer cylinder. Keeping terms up to the order h2 we finally obtain exact, closed-form expressions for the expansion coefficients g(1) and g(2) in the relation S(h) = S(0)[1 + g(1)h + g(2)h2 + O(h3)], giving the scattered field and the scattering cross sections of the problem, where S(0) corresponds to the coaxial geometry, with h = 0 (d = 0). Both polarizations are considered for normal incidence. Numerical results are given for various values of the parameters, corresponding to materials or metamaterials. Our method is an alternative of the one using the translational addition theorem in the case of small eccentricities h.     

Rainbow scattering by a cylinder with a nearly elliptical cross section

We both theoretically and experimentally examine the behavior of the first- and the second-order rainbows produced by a normally illuminated glass rod, which has a nearly elliptical cross section, as it is rotated about its major axis. We decompose the measured rainbow angle, taken as a function of the rod's rotation angle, into a Fourier series and find that the rod's refractive index, average ellipticity, and deviation from ellipticity are encoded primarily in the m = 0, 2, 3 Fourier coefficients, respectively. We determine these parameters for our glass rod and, where possible, compare them with independent measurements. We find that the average ellipticity of the rod agrees well with direct measurements, but that the rod's diameter inferred from the spacing of the supernumeraries of the first-order rainbow is significantly larger than that obtained by direct measurement. We also determine the conditions under which the deviation of falling water droplets from an oblate spheroidal shape permits the first few supernumeraries of the second-order rainbow to be observed in a rain shower.     

Light scattering by a coated sphere illuminated with a Gaussian beam

The intensity of light scattered by a coated sphere illuminated with an off-axis Gaussian beam is calculated. Results are shown for different beam positions with respect to the sphere. As the beam is shifted further away from the surface of the sphere, the higher-Q morphology-dependent resonances become increasingly important in the backscatter spectra, and the angular scattering intensity becomes smoother.

The scattered intensity depends on the beam position, the refractive indices of the core and coat, the radius of the core, and the thickness of the coat. As the beam is moved further away from the sphere, the effect of the core on the scattering intensity decreases. When the incident Gaussian beam is focused outside of a particle with a relatively small core, the scattering spectra and angular scattering patterns become similar to those of a homogeneous sphere having the refractive index of the coat. These calculated results suggest that measurements of spectral scattering and angular scattering patterns for several Gaussian beam positions could be useful for the characterization of coated spheres.

     

Exterior caustics produced in scattering of a diagonally incident plane wave by a circular cylinder: semiclassical scattering theory analysis

We use the semiclassical limit of electromagnetic wave scattering theory to determine the properties of the exterior caustics of a diagonally incident plane wave scattered by an infinitely long homogeneous dielectric circular cylinder in both the near zone and the far zone. The transmission caustic has an exterior/interior cusp transition as the tilt angle of the incident beam is increased, and each of the rainbow caustics has a farzone rainbow/exterior cusp transition and an exterior/interior cusp transition as the incident beam tilt angle is increased. We experimentally observe and analyze both transitions of the first-order rainbow. We also compare the predictions of the semiclassical approximation with those of ray theory and exact electromagnetic wave scattering theory.     

Geometrical-optics approximation of forward scattering by coated particles

By means of geometrical optics we present an approximation algorithm with which to accelerate the computation of scattering intensity distribution within a forward angular range (0 degrees-60 degrees) for coated particles illuminated by a collimated incident beam. Phases of emerging rays are exactly calculated to improve the approximation precision. This method proves effective for transparent and tiny absorbent particles with size parameters larger than 75 but fails to give good approximation results at scattering angles at which refractive rays are absent. When the absorption coefficient of a particle is greater than 0.01, the geometrical optics approximation is effective only for forward small angles, typically less than 10 degrees or so.     

Photographic observation of a natural fourth-order rainbow

We report what is believed to be the first photographic recording of a quaternary rainbow in nature. It appears on the Sun side of the sky with its red arc at a radius of about 45° from the Sun. The original pictures have been subjected to various forms of image processing to reveal the tertiary rainbow as well as the quaternary rainbow, which are separated by only a few degrees with their colors reversed and their red arcs adjacent to each other.     

Wave scattering by a circular cylinder half-immersed in water with an ice-cover

The problem of scattering of water waves obliquely incident on a fixed long circular cylinder half-immersed in deep water with an ice-cover is investigated here. The ice-cover is modelled as an elastic plate of very small thickness. The problem is formulated using the method of multipoles. This leads to an infinite system of linear equations which are solved numerically by truncation. The reflection and transmission coefficients are obtained and depicted graphically against the wave number for various values of the angle of incidence and flexural rigidity of the ice-cover to show the effect of the presence of ice-cover on these quantities. The effect of ice-cover is seen to increase the reflection coefficient and to decrease the transmission coefficient.     

Scale transformation of Maxwell's equations and scattering by an elliptic cylinder

A scale transformation that converts an ellipse into a circle has been suggested in the literature as a method for eliminating the need to evaluate the conventional Mathieu function solution for scattering by an elliptic cylinder. This suggestion is tested by examining the wave equation in the scaled coordinate system and by evaluating the scattering from a thin ellipse for conditions where it is expected that an approximate solution can be obtained using the scalar theory single-slit approximation. It is found that, for a plane electromagnetic wave normally incident on a thin perfectly conducting ellipse, the position of the first minimum in the diffraction pattern, relative to the central axis, differs by approximately a factor of 7 between the single-slit and the scaled theory approach to the problem. The examination of the scaled wave equation and the scattering calculation suggests that, because the scale transformation generates an anisotropic medium, the use of a uniform medium solution in the scaled coordinate system is not appropriate.     

Wave scattering by a horizontal circular cylinder in a two-layer fluid with an ice-cover

In a two-layer fluid wherein the upper layer is of finite depth and bounded above by a thin but uniform layer of ice-cover modelled as a thin elastic sheet and the lower layer is infinitely deep below the interface, time-harmonic waves with a given frequency can propagate with two different wavenumbers. The wave of smaller wavenumber propagates along the ice-cover while wave of higher wavenumber propagates along the interface. In this paper problems of wave scattering by a horizontal circular cylinder submerged in either the lower or in the upper layer due to obliquely as well as normally incident wave trains of both the wave numbers are investigated by using the method of multipole expansions. The effect of the presence of ice-cover on the various reflection and transmission coefficients due to incident waves at the ice-cover and the interface is depicted graphically in a number of figures.     

Modeling of the scattering of electromagnetic waves by a thin dielectric coating on a cylinder

Double-sided boundary conditions containing only tangential components of a diffracted field are used to model the interaction of electromagnetic waves with a cylinder of arbitrary cross section covered with a thin dielectric layer. The obtained boundary-value problem is reduced to a system of two singular integral equations of the second kind with kernels whose structure is similar to the kernels of integral equations of the first kind for a perfectly conducting scatterer. The numerical solution of the integral equations of the problem is obtained by the method of mechanical quadratures. The scattering properties of an elliptic cylinder with different dielectric coatings are studied in the superhigh-frequency band. It is shown that the coating strongly affects the diffraction properties of the cylinder. __________ Translated from Fizyko-Khimichna Mekhanika Materialiv, Vol. 42, No. 1, pp. 96–104, January–February, 2006.     

Field-ion microscopic observation of a twin boundary in iridium

Twin boundaries in field-ion micrographs are expected to show matching of rings of prominent planes in the matrix crystal with rings of other prominent planes in the twin crystal. This paper offers additional experimental verification of this contrast feature and shows the usefulness of this concept in identifying orientation relationships in bicrystals without the uncertainty involved in the assumption on that the field-ion projection corresponds to any of the standard projections.     

Ultrasonic scattering by a fluid cylinder of elliptic cross section, including viscous effects

This paper analyzes acoustic scattering by a viscous compressible fluid cylinder of elliptic cross section submerged in an unbounded viscous nonheat-conducting compressible fluid medium. The classical method of eigenfunction expansion along with the appropriate wave field expansions and the pertinent boundary conditions are used to develop a solution in the form of infinite series involving Mathieu and modified Mathieu functions of complex arguments. The complications arising due to the nonorthogonality of angular Mathieu functions corresponding to distinct wave numbers in addition to the problems associated with the appearance of additional angular-dependent terms in the boundary conditions are all avoided in an elegant manner by expansion of the angular Mathieu functions in terms of transcendental functions and subsequent integration, leading to a linear set of independent equations in terms of the unknown scattering coefficients. A multiprecision code was developed for computing the Mathieu functions of complex argument in terms of complex Fourier coefficients that are themselves calculated by numerically solving appropriate sets of eigen-systems. The numerical results point to the imperative influence of fluid viscosity in notable reduction of pressure amplitudes at intermediate and high frequencies. They also reveal the central role of the cross sectional ellipticity in conjunction with the angle of incidence in altering the pressure directivities. Limiting cases are considered, and fair agreements with well-known solutions are obtained.     

Design of a robust thin-film interference filter for erbium-doped fiber amplifier gain equalization

Gain-flattening filters (GFFs) are key wavelength division multiplexing components in fiber-optics telecommunications. Challenging issues in the design of thin-film GFFs were recently the subject of a contest organized at the 2001 Conference on Optical Interference Coatings. The interest and main difficulty of the proposed problem was to minimize the sensitivity of a GFF to simulated fabrication errors. A high-yield solution and its design philosophy are described. The approach used to control the filter robustness is explained and illustrated by numerical results.