LOW ORDERS OF SCATTERING IN A PLANE-PARALLEL HOMOGENEOUS ATMOSPHERE

Explicit formulae for orders of scattering up to the second for polari zed radiation in a plane-parallel homogeneous atmosphere are presented . The atmosphere is bounded below by a ground surface that absorbs all radiation incident upon it. The following three types of illumination are considered, (i) a unidirectional beam of light incident at the to p of the atmosphere, (ii) isotropically radiating internal sources, an d (iii) an isotropically radiating surface. Computational results for orders of scattering up to the second are given in graphical as well a s tabular form for the three types of illumination. These results are compared with exact numerical results for the total radiation, obtaine d with a scheme based on the adding/doubling method. The tabulated res ults pertain to an atmosphere containing water droplets with a haze L size distribution, and the graphical results pertain to an atmosphere with Venus cloud particles. Some characteristic differences of the pol arized radiation due to differences in the type of illumination are in dicated.